Why Blue Whales Are Way Cooler Than You Think
Blue whales are awesome, and it’s kinda hard to argue otherwise. If you disagree, I encourage you to keep reading. Maybe I can change your mind.
To appreciate these gentle giants, we must understand the hardships these peaceful beings endured over the last few centuries. Prior to the explosion of the whale oil industry in the 1800s, global blue whale populations remained steady with around 350,000 individual whales. Unsustainable whaling practices brought them to near extinction in the early 1900s. Despite modern whaling sparing blues, populations are much lower than before, ranging between 15,000 and 25,000 whales currently in the wild. On a positive note, blue whale populations are rising; however, they can’t seem to shake their spot on the endangered species list, as occasional boat strikes and damage to their environment pose a prominent threat to their everyday lives.
There are many whale species in our seas and oceans, with many having traits that are arguably way cooler. For some, the title of “coolest whale” belongs to the humpback whales, orcas, or dare I say, beluga whales. To me, these opinions are all wrong, but please let me explain. What makes the “blues” so special? To truly appreciate the blue whale, we must reflect on our own existence and consider the greater world in which we live.
Let’s break this down – the largest animals to ever fly in the sky or to walk on land have long gone extinct. The blue whale, however, is the largest sea creature of all time. Not only that, it is the largest animal species to exist on planet earth- ever. Let that sink in. Mature blue whales can be as heavy as 300,000 pounds. I don’t think you quite understand how big these things are; I will elaborate: these whales are the size of three school buses parked front to rear. You and I share the planet with the largest living being that has ever existed. For all we know, the blue whale is the largest living thing to exist in the entire universe. These guys are truly a leading player in the era of mammal dominance. To some, the sheer size and scale of these whales may sound kinda scary, but fear not. Blue whales eat almost exclusively krill. Even if they did accidentally chomp on you (which is likely your fault to begin with), you could not be swallowed as their throats are not much bigger than a basketball. Blue whales don’t want to eat you anyway, they have too big a heart, quite literally, as their physical heart is the size of a car.
We have all heard the powerful and sometimes eerie noise recordings of whales and dolphins, and perhaps have practiced speaking whale language in the shower. You would be right in thinking blue whales make noise, but you would be wrong in assuming you have ever heard them. The blue whale makes a noise at such a low infrasonic frequency range that the human ear cannot hear it. However, if you were to turn into a blue whale (which would be awesome), you could hear your friends from up to 1,000 miles away. That’s like yelling to ask your friend down in Florida if they want to come to the Java Barn show this Thursday. You could then hear the response all the way at St. Lawrence University, which would undoubtedly be a “yes”. Although we cannot hear them, blue whales make a noise at around 188 decibels, making them one of the loudest animals in the world. To hear these whales, special technology is required to “translate” the sound into a wave range we can hear. You can find these recordings online, and they’re actually really cool.
Think you can hold your breath for a long time? Blue whales can dive to depths deeper than the Empire State Building is tall and can remain underwater for 10 to 20 minutes. When diving, it is best to stay out of their way, as these whales can reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, which is about the speed I should have been driving the last time I got pulled over.
The blue whale is not on everyone’s list of favorite animals, and that’s okay. All animals in this world are pretty cool, and by sharing some weird facts about them every once in a while, we may inspire others to help protect them. Blue whales are incredible animals, but if we as humans are not careful, they may not be around forever. So the next time you go into the ocean, go underwater and tell the whales, “Hey, you’re pretty cool!” You won’t hear a response back, but trust me, they are thanking you with an inaudible voice 1,000 miles away.