Did you know that blue whales are among the largest creatures in the ocean? They can grow to over two hundred and fifty feet in length. And they are almost always seen from shore! These creatures have been dubbed by scientists as one of the most mysterious and fascinating species in the world.
So what is so fascinating about blue whales? Well, for starters, they are among the largest animals in the ocean. The average length of a blue whale is around three hundred and eighty feet, but a well-informed guess would put that number much closer to five hundred feet. That is quite a bit of size! In addition, a blue whale is not like other creatures that make their home on land. A blue whale is at home floating in the deep ocean.
Blue whales are unique, in that they stay mostly on the ocean bottom. For this reason, it is rare for them to come up close to shore. In fact, it is estimated that a blue whale may spend up to seven hours a day floating along the open ocean. While it is hard to imagine that something so massive could stay so close to the water’s edge for such a long period of time, there is an historical account of a humpback whale which spent about seven hours at the edge of what was then known as the Bermuda Islands.
This brings up an interesting question…if a blue whale spends so much time at the edge of the open waters each day, how did they get to the open waters in the first place? The answer to that question is that they came up on goldfish, which were feeding on by catch in the nearby waters. While many people have speculated that the goldfish caused the whales to arrive, it is more likely that the whales arrived when the food was in high demand and nearby waters were experiencing high population levels. So this brings up a good question: where did the blue whales come from?
Well, there is a great deal of evidence that shows that they were brought to the New World by European settlers. For example, they are seen as early as 1495. They also tend to carry diseases with them that give them a distinct taste and smell, which is similar to the smelly stinky feet of a mouse. So, if you have ever wondered why blue whales give birth, the answer is: to eat goldfish.
