Indonesia
Blue Whale the Giant Swimmer
Blue whale is the largest animal to roam the Earth, even bigger than the dinosaurs. It reaches up to 30 m in length and weight over 200 tons. The weight of its tongue alone can match that of an elephant. The heart is at the size of a small car we see every day on the street. The mouth is so wide that it can fit 100 people. That’s why in the world of fairy tale, the blue whale is known as the monster fish that swallow Pinocchio. There’s no need to argue, it is definitely the number one in size marine mammal of all time.
But why blue whale? The color of its body is grayish blue with light gray dots. It appears really blue when submerge and is more to gray when going to surface. The giant blue animal eats very small shrimp called krill, only about 8-60 mm. So, don’t be surprised if an adult blue whale consumes up to 4 tons of krill a day to full.
Does the blue whale still exist? Yes, this giant animal can be found on the oceans all over the world, including Indonesian seas. The number is estimated around 10 thousand to 25 thousand fishes. It swims both individual or in small groups. Despite being oversized, it doesn’t mean blue whale is slow. It is among the excellent swimmer with normal speed of eight kilometer per hour. When in danger, it can speed up to 32 km per hour.
Not only the oversized body. Blue whale is also among the animals that have the loudest voice in the world. Just imagine, these mammals can communicate from 1.600 km distance. That’s easy to understand because the sound they produce is 188 dB, higher than a jet engine 140 dB. This animal also lives longer than human, up to110 years. But their average life span is about 80-90 years old. They are born with weight three tons and eight meters in length, after being in the womb for one year. During the first year, the blue whale babies don’t eat anything but milk from the mother. That alone can shoot their weight 91 kilogram a day.
Blue whale is an endangered and among the protected animal by the World Whale Comission in 1966. They are aggressively hunted during the 1900s. around 360 thousand whales were slaughtered between 1900 to mid 1960s. Other thing responsible for their death was attack of shark and killer whale and injured inflicted by big ships. These whales are now on the red list of endangered animals by World Conservation.
HAFIDA INDRAWATI
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
