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Blue
Whale Pictures - Photos and Images of the World's Largest
Marine Mammal |
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The blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, is the largest
mammal to ever inhabit the ocean. The largest recorded
was a 108-foot adult female caught in Antarctica.
Blue whales in the southern hemisphere reach lengths
of 90 to 100 feet, but in the northern hemisphere
they are smaller, on average 75 to 80 feet . Females
are larger than males of the same age, the largest
weighing as much as 150 tons, with an average of
100 tons. The blue whale is listed as endangered
on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. The total
world population was estimated to be between 5,000
and 12,000 in 2002, although there are high levels
of uncertainty in estimates for many areas. As global warming causes glaciers and permafrost
to melt and allow fresh water to flow into the oceans,
there are concerns that there will be a disruption
in the circulation of warm and cold water around
the world. The blue whale's migratory patterns are
based on ocean temperature. The whales summer in
the cool latitudes, where they feed in krill-abundant
waters, and winter in warmer latitudes, where they
mate and give birth. The change in ocean temperature
would also affect the food supply as the warming
trend and decreased salinity would cause a shift
in krill location and abundance.
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Picture of blue whale,
Balaenoptera musculus, feeding on krill, Mexico,
Pacific Ocean
Image #: 010494 |
Image of blue whale
tail,
Balaenoptera musculus,
Mexico, Pacific Ocean
Image #: 085833 |
Stock photo of blue
whale,
Balaenoptera musculus, California, East
Pacific Ocean
Image #: 009785 |
Photo of park arches
made from blue whale lower jawbones, mandibles, Balaenoptera
musculus, Port Stanley on East Falkland Island in
the Falkland Islands Group, South Atlantic Ocean.
Image #: 057306 |
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Picture of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, digital illustration
Image #: 013131 |
Image of fecal cloud
left behind after blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, defecated
at surface is colored red by krill that form the
bulk of the blue whale's diet, California, Eastern
Pacific Ocean
Image #: 035400 |
Stock photo of blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, diving, California,
East Pacific Ocean
Image #: 035398 |
Photo of of blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, Fulf of California,
Mexico
Image #: 046416 |
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Picture of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, fluke, Baja, Mexico, Pacific
Ocean
Image #: 001883 |
Image of Doug Perrine
inside rib cage of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, Western Australian Museum
Image #: 005800 |
Stock photo of blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, mother and calf, Baja,
Mexico, East Pacific Ocean
Image #: 002808 |
Photo of blue whale,
Balaenoptera musculus, San Diego, California, Pacific
Ocean
Image #: 001779 |
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Picture of pelagic red
tuna crab, Pleuroncodes planipes, open ocean,
food for endangered blue whale,
Balaenoptera musculus, San Diego,
California, East Pacific Ocean
Image #: 007542 |
Image of of blue whale
tail, Balaenoptera musculusl, caudal stem,
fluke with median notch, Mexico, Pacific Ocean
Image #: 007535 |
Stock photo of blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, blow, Mexico,
East Pacific Ocean
Image #: 007534 |
Photo of blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, mother and
calf, Baja, Mexico, East Pacific Ocean
Image #: 007544 |
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Picture of dead blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, possibly due to human
activities such as military sonor experiment or boat
collision, Dana Point, San Clemente, California,
Pacific Ocean
Image #: 011503 |
Image of of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, Azores, Portugal
Image #: 045618 |
Stock photo of blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, fluke trailing
copepods, Mexico, East Pacific Ocean
Image #: 007512 |
Photo of endangered
blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, fluking,
raising flukes to start deep dive, off central Baja
Peninsula, Sea of Cortez, Mexico
Image #: 009092 |
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