Whales are at risk from ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. Many whale species are endangered-like the blue whale and North Atlantic right whale. A blue whale can eat up to four tons of krill in a day. Their hearts alone are the size of a small car! Despite their size, they keep their eyes low on the food chain: they eat krill which are small crustaceans that grow to about three inches in size. A blue whale can grow up to 100 feet long and weigh up to 200 tons. The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived (yes, including dinosaurs). Blue Whale (100 feet) © NOAA Photo Library And, with such a large stomach to fill, the fin whale can eat up to 4,400 pounds of krill every day! That’s a lot of krill. Sometimes referred to as the “greyhound of the sea,” the fin whale can swim at astonishing speeds of up to 28 miles per hour. Fin whales got their name from easy-to-see fins on their backs. Fin Whale (90 feet) Overhead shot of fin whale at ocean surface © NOAA FisheriesĬoming in at second place, the fin whale is the second-largest species on Earth. Sperm whales are among the world’s deepest divers. When hunting squid, a sperm whale may spend as much as an hour on a dive to more than 3,000 feet, where the temperature hovers at 36 degrees Fahrenheit and the pressure is more than 1,400 pounds per square inch. The sound bounces off objects in the water and returns to the whale, whose brain creates an image based on the signals. Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales and use sonar (echolocation) to hunt prey and to sense the world around them. The sound waves they emit are so powerful that human divers swimming near the whales can feel the pulses. Sperm Whale (60 feet) © Gabriel Barathieu They have long arching mouths that begins above the eye and rows of baleen plates hanging on each side of their upper jaws. North Atlantic right whales can grow between 45 and 60 feet and weigh up to 70 tons. Currently, North Atlantic right whale populations are estimated to be fewer than 440 individuals. The North Atlantic right whale represents the most critically endangered populations of large whales in the world. North Atlantic Right Whale (60 feet) © NOAA Fisheries/Allison Henry Bowhead whales are big, heavy and long-lived! Rounding out their impressive traits, bowhead whales are among the longest-living animals in the entire world, with some scientists estimating maximum lifespans of up to 200 years.
The only whale that weighs more is the blue whale. Bowhead whales are among the heaviest animals on Earth-weighing 75-100 tons. The bowhead is the fifth largest whale in the ocean, reaching up to 60 feet in length. Bowhead Whale (59 feet) © Doc Whiteīowhead whales live in the icy Arctic and subarctic waters. Here are the top five biggest whales in the ocean. Thanks for signing up for Ocean Conservancy emails.