QUICK FACTS
The Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)is the largest animal that ever lived on Earth. They can grow to 30 meters, weigh up to 181 metric tons and live 80-90 years.
Status:
Endangered (World Conservation Union Red List) due to rampant whaling in the 1960s.
They feed mostly on krill (tiny shrimp like animals) and can consumer around 3.6 metric tons in a day.
They belong to the baleen whales. Baleens are fringed plates of fingernail-like material attached to their upper jaws. They feed by swallowing mouthful of water and expelling these through the baleen which acts as filter that trap the krill.
Blue whales are graceful swimmers and cruise the ocean at more than eight kilometer per hour, but accelerate to more than 32 kilometers an hour when they are agitated.
Blue whales are among the loudest animals on the planet. They emit a series of pulses, groans, and moans and it is thought that, in good conditions, blue whales can hear each other up to 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away.
THEY ARE ENDANGERED
Their huge size does not spare them from human threats.
They are threatened by boat collision. Dynamite fishing, marine debris entanglement, plastic trash pollution, chemical and sound pollution.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP SAVE THEM
Help spread awareness about conserving and protecting our marine resources.
Report illegal fishing activities.
Reduce your plastic waste.
Help document presence of whales and other large marine life (do this from a safe distance).
Hotlines:
Maritime Police 0927 893 4993
Coastguard (Dumaguete City) 0915 112 8823; 0929 674 2380
BFAR 0926 357 2278
DENR 0905 595 9149
A campaign of Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines
Life in the Great Beyond 