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Blue
Whale Pictures |
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Like all large cetaceans, blue whales breed slowly. They begin mating from the ages of 5 to 11. Gestation takes 11-12 months, and only one calf is born in a span of 2 or 3 years. Calves measure about 23 ft (7 m) long at birth, and they grow to about 50 ft (15 m) within 8 months, when they are weaned. A blue whale calf may gain up to 200 lbs (90 kg) a day while nursing. Blue whale calves are preyed upon by packs of killer whales, and weak or ill ones may be preyed upon by large sharks. The life span of the blue whale is not known with accuracy, but it is thought they may live as long as 80 years.
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Picture of blue whale,
Balaenoptera musculus, fluke, Gulf of California, Mexico
Picture #: 046401 |
Image of blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, aerial, surface feeding. Note the mouth open and pleats extended as whale strains water and krill through baleen, California , Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 025454 |
Stock photo of blue
whale,
Balaenoptera musculus, aerial, California, Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 019996 |
Photo of adult blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus, defecating. The red color is due to krill in diet. California, Eastern Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 035399 |
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Picture of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, skeleton on display, Monaco aquarium, Monaco
Picture #: 025258 |
Image of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, tail, Gulf of California Mexico
Picture #: 046403 |
Stock photo of blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, throat pleats distended during feeding, Mexico, East Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 007549 |
Photo of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, surfacing with wide open blowholes, Spitzbergen, Barents Sea, North East Atlantic
Picture #: 019529 |
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Picture of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, raising its tail fluke high out of the water before diving; open ocean offshore of San Diego, California , Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 016469 |
Image of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, open blowholes, rounding out, Mexico, East Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 007523 |
Stock photo of blue whale tail, Balaenoptera musculus, Gulf of California, Mexico, East Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 046406 |
Photo of blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, and photographer, California, Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 035396 |
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Picture of a blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, illustration of fluke
Picture #: 026497 |
Image of of blue whale,Balaenoptera
musculus, blowing, Gulf of California, Mexico
Picture #: 046390 |
Stock photo of blue
whale, Balaenoptera musculus,aerial view, throat pleats distended during feeding, Mexico
Picture #: 010847 |
Photo of a blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, off Baja California, Mexico, Eastern Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 024190 |
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Picture of a blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, vertibrae, part of skeleton. Gulf of California, Mexico, Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 066231 |
Image of of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, California, East Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 081744 |
Stock photo of blue whale, Balaenoptera
musculus, raising fluke for dive at sunset in the offshore waters of Santa Monica Bay, California, USA.
Picture #: 056716 |
Photo of blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, feeding, showing the inflated throat, off Baja California, Mexico, Eastern Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 074555 |
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