Ocean · Mammal
Blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus
The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived — bigger than any dinosaur. This giant eats almost nothing but tiny shrimp-like animals called krill.
- Where it lives
- All oceans
- Diet
- CarnivoreEats meat
- Weight
- 100–150 tonnes
- Length
- 27 m
- Top speed
- 30 km/h
- Lifespan (wild)
- 70–90 years
In Pawpedia: What is a mammal?What is a carnivore?What does endangered mean?
Yaman scale
Drawn side by side with Yaman, to the same scale.
Length18Yamans
Blue whale: length 27 m — that's 18 times Yaman's height.
Weight3,571Yamans
Around 125 tonnes — as heavy as 3,571 Yamans.
Common questions
Where does the blue whale live?
- All oceans. In our zoo it lives in the Ocean zone.
What does the blue whale eat?
- It is a carnivore: it eats meat.
How big does the blue whale get?
- Length: 27 m. It weighs 100–150 tonnes.
How long does the blue whale live?
- 70–90 years in the wild.
How fast is the blue whale?
- It can reach about 30 km/h.
Is the blue whale endangered?
- On the IUCN Red List it is listed as endangered. At high risk of disappearing from the wild.
Did you know?
- Its heart weighs about 180 kilograms.
- It can eat more than 3,500 kilograms of krill in a day.
- Its calls can travel hundreds of kilometres through the ocean.
How safe is it?
- LC
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Endangered. At high risk of disappearing from the wild.
IUCN Red List
