Although Blue Whales have rarely been seen in the Gulf of Maine we thought you might be interested in some information about the largest animal on earth. This information comes from The Whale Watchers Guide by Robert Gardiner and The Twilight Seas, A Blue Whale's Journey By Sally Carriglar.
The record length for a blue whale is a female killed in Antarctica that was 106 feet in length. The record weight may be over 200 tons.
The tongue of a blue whale weighs as much as an elephant.
The pleated throat of a blue whale, when expanded to take in water and food may increase the whales total volume by six times.
The largest dinosaur weighed 30 to 35 tons. A blue whale weighs three to six times as much.
A 150 ton blue whale has a heart that weighs half a ton and a body that contains 7 tons of blood.
The 180-decibel whistle made by a blue whale is the loudest animal sound ever recorded. It equals the noise made by a navy cruiser traveling at normal speed.
A blue whale infant calf gains 8 1/2 pounds an hour while drinking 130 gallons of it's mother's milk each day.
It takes six months for a human baby to double its weight. A blue while accomplishes the same feat in one week.
The 2,000 blue whales now found in Antarctic waters represent only 1 percent of the original population.