BLUE WHALES
Blue whales are marine mammals which mean they lived in diverse group which depend on the ocean for food. It abundant in nearly all ocean until the beginning of the twentieth century. The largest creature ever known to have existed on earth is the present-day blue whale. Today's blue whale, even larger than its ancestors. This giant animal is placid and shy. they are mottled bluish gray with Brod flat heads and a small dorsal thin located in the last forth of the body. They are hunted almost extinct by the whalers however by 1966 blue whales are protected by the International Whaling Commission declared them protected. In 2000 it was estimated that there were fewer than 10 000 left. It is believed to be larger than dinosaurs. It's heart is the size of a Volkswagen beetle and pumps ten tons of blood through the massive blue whale body. a blue whale aorta alone is large enough for a human to go through. It is usually found under/ surface of the deep ocean. it consumes around 2 tons of food a day. They eat small fish and tiny organism. It is also the loudest animal on earth which reach up to 188 decibels. they live in a small group call pods. they can also dive for up to an hour and can go to the depth of 350 feet. it is declare as a fast swimmer. They are always attack or kill by the killer whales(orcas). Their life are expectancy of 35 to 40 years. They are usually hunted for their meat, oil and other body parts are valuable as well. Human activities such as fishing, aquaculture, shipping traffic, military exercises and mega-projects, might affect the integrity, function and sustainability of this relatively pristine ecosystem, whether it be by direct contamination, pollution, spread of introduced species, by-catch in fisheries or by the increase of maritime traffic in the area.The Blue Whale Project seeks to develop an integrated and effective conservation strategy for the blue whale population and the marine ecosystem they depend on. We should develop and build up the science program and expand datasets needed to characterize blue whale ecology and the human influence on the area or develop platforms of communication and collaboration between scientists, governmental authorities, non-governmental organizations, stakeholders and local inhabitants. With this multidisciplinary approach we can expect to generate the opportunity for developing an action plan that can help blue whales, the marine ecosystem, productive activities and local inhabitants.
http://nature.ca/notebooks/english/bluwale.htm
http://www.wdcs.org/dan/publishing.nsf/allweb/803E6F754FC6728380256966005087B7
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/planetocean/bluewhale.html
http://www.npca.org/marine_and_coastal/marine_wildlife/bluewhale.html
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/blue-whale.html
