World’s Largest Mammal

The Blue Whale, residing in the Antarctic Ocean is the world’s largest mammal. It is the largest animal existing on the earth weights approximately 160 to 180 (around the similar weight of over 34 elephants) tones with an average length of 24 to 29 meters. The mammal’s various species can also be spotted North Atlantic, North Pacific, Indian Ocean, South Pacific Ocean, and Northern Indian Ocean. Blue Whale’s body can be of several colors like various shades that create greyish-blue dorsally and lighter in color underneath. Let’s get to know more about the world’s largest mammal in this article. 

Mammals are the vertebrate species that directly give birth rather than laying eggs. They have mammary glands (Milk) for the nourishment of newborns. Usually, most Mammals have fur that covers their body and have warm blood. Like any other case, exceptionally, some mammals do lay eggs, for example, platypus, and echidna. Also, some examples of mammals include rats, cats, dogs, deer, monkeys, apes, bats, whales, dolphins, and humans.

World’s Largest Mammal, Blue Whale: 

Lifespan and Living Habits

Krill is the main food of the biggest mammal on earth, the blue whale. An adult whale can eat up to 220 metric tons of krills per day. As per an estimation, the Blue Whale’s lifespan is over 80 to 90 years. There is an interesting aspect, due to their extreme size, they do not have any natural predators. They were hunted by humans mainly for blubber and oil. About 80 to 120 oil barrels can be extracted from a body of a blue whale.

In terms of living habits, the Blue Whale usually likes to stay solitary. However, during the productivity period, the mammal can be found in a group of over 50. With a traveling speed ranging from 5 to 30 kilometers per hour, the animal has been observed to be using memory in order to locate the best place for feeding and even for breeding. Blue Whales usually go on long migrations, traveling to their summer feeding grounds and winter breeding ground of theirs.

Maturity and Reproduction

The Blue Whale’s average sexual maturity age is considered 8-10 years. At the point of their maturity they usually have a length of over 21-23 meters (females), and 20-21 meters (males). In terms of behavior related to mating, the Blue Whale apparently has the polygynous (a system where a single male mates with multiple females and other hand, females only mate with a single male) where males compete with each other for females.

Also, pregnant females eat up to four percent of their body weight. The pregnancy time period last from 10 to 12 months and notably, the blue whale gives birth to calves whose size may have a length of over 6-7 meters with a weight of approximately around 2 to 3 metric tonnes at the time of birth.

How do Blue Whales Communicate?

Blue whales can communicate with other whales by producing sound with frequencies ranging from lowest at 8 Hz and highest at 25 Hz. The method of communicating through sound varies from species to species.