![]() ![]() Singing is performed only by males and occurs year-round. Life span of this species is estimated to be 80 to 90 years. Healthy adults are not particularly vulnerable to predators, but calves are likely vulnerable to shark and killer whale attacks.īlue whales produce sounds that travel long distances through the water. It is suspected that calves, at approximately six months of age, may stop feeding on their mother’s milk and start feeding independently. Breeding between blue whales and fin whales has produced hybrids.īlue whales do not form close social groups, but typically occur alone or in pairs. The average calving interval is probably two to three years, and the age of sexual maturity is thought to be 5 to 15 years. The whales return to lower latitudes in winter, where most reproductive activity takes place, including births and mating. Poleward movements in spring allow the whales to travel to areas with high summer and fall production of krill.Ī blue whale consumes up to 8,000 pounds of krill in a day, and it can filter up to 70 percent of its body weight in water during each feeding lunge. ![]() Krill, a type of euphausiid, are small, shrimplike animals. This large baleen whale forages primarily on krill along continental shelf slopes and deeper oceanic waters. A blue whale spouts in Pacific Northwest waters NOAA/Cascadia Research Collective ![]()
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