Life Span of Blue Whales

Description of the Blue Whale continued

Size and Weight

     There is no contesting that a blue whale is the largest animal inhabiting the Earth. Their average length is; (Antarctic stock): 27 m (89') (females); 25 m (82') (males). A good way to visualize their length is to remember that they are about as long as three school buses, four maximum. One is bigger than 25 elephants; bigger than a Brontosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex combined. A blue whale calf is about 7 m (23') long at birth. The largest specimen found was a female 94 feet (29 m) long weighing more 174 tons (158 tonnes). The females are larger than males, as with all baleen whales.

The heart of a blue whale alone is as large as a small car. A small human could crawl through their aorta (a major blood vessel) like a playground tunnel-tube! The largest of the blue whales (150 tons) has a heart that weighs about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) and has 14,000 pounds (6,400 kg) of blood circulating in its body. 

     It can weigh up to 136,400 kg (300,000 lb) and grow as long as 34 m (110'). The typical weight of a blue whale: 108,000 kg (238,000 lb); up to 136,000 kg (300,000 lb). It has a slim outline, especially in the winter, although it fattens in the summer.

Life span

     Blue whales have a life expectancy of 35-40 years, but the normal, un-hunted lifespan of a blue whale is estimated to be 80 years.