11 facts about blue whales, the largest animals ever on Earth

CC BY 2.0 filckker photosFlickr The blue whale, is the largest animal ever known to have lived on the planet. Here’s what you need to know about the majestic marine mammal. Picture in your mind a 10-story-tall animal walking down the street and you probably start channeling images of Godzilla or King Kong. But if you imagine it as a marine mammal and place it on its side, swimming … now you’ve got a blue whale. Balaenoptera musculus , the blue whale, is the largest animal ever known to have lived on the planet – larger than dinosaurs, and movie monsters aside. Even at birth it is one of the world’s biggest animals!.The planet is covered with amazing, fascinating creatures, but the blue whale ranks among one of the most superlative. Consider the following. 1. How big is a blue whale? They are gigantic. Generally ranging in length from 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 meters), the longest one ever recorded was a magnificent 108 feet long. 2. How much does a blue whale weigh? These gentle giants weigh up to 200 tonnes, or around 441,000 pounds. 3. They’ve got big hearts The blue whale’s heart is huge! […]

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