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The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever lived, reaching about 30 metres and up to around 150 tonnes, heavier than any known dinosaur.

Marine biology (blue whale)

Science

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It feeds almost entirely on krill, shrimp-like animals a few centimetres long. It gulps huge mouthfuls of water and pushes the water out through baleen, rows of bristly plates in its mouth, keeping the krill inside; in the feeding season an adult can eat several tonnes a day. Its heart can weigh about 180 kilograms, the heaviest known in any animal, and a newborn calf already weighs two to three tonnes. Industrial whaling in the 20th century killed hundreds of thousands of blue whales before the International Whaling Commission protected them in 1966. Numbers are slowly recovering, but the species is still listed as endangered, with an estimated 10,000 to 25,000 alive today.

Türkçe oku
Mavi balina, yeryüzünde yaşadığı bilinen en büyük hayvandır. Boyu 30 metreyi, ağırlığı 150 tonu bulabilir; bilinen hiçbir dinozor bu kadar ağır değildi.

Mavi balina neredeyse yalnızca kril yer. Kril, birkaç santim boyunda, karidese benzeyen küçük deniz canlılarıdır. Balina ağzına kocaman yudumlarla su alır, sonra bu suyu ağzındaki kıl gibi sık plakalardan, yani balenlerden dışarı iter; kril içeride kalır. Beslenme mevsiminde bir yetişkin günde birkaç ton kril yiyebilir. Kalbi yaklaşık 180 kilogram gelebilir; bilinen hayvanlar arasındaki en ağır kalp budur. Yeni doğan bir yavru bile 2-3 ton ağırlığındadır. 20. yüzyıldaki endüstriyel balina avcılığı yüz binlerce mavi balinanın ölümüne yol açtı; tür ancak 1966'da Uluslararası Balina Avcılığı Komisyonu'nun kararıyla koruma altına alındı. Sayıları yavaş yavaş artıyor, ama mavi balina hâlâ nesli tehlikedeki türler arasında; bugün 10.000 ile 25.000 arasında mavi balina yaşadığı tahmin ediliyor.

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Background reading: Blue whale
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