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ALL ABOUT WHALES!
What is a Whale? Whale Information Sheets Anatomy and Behavior Extreme Whales Whale Myths Whale Evolution Whale Classification Whale Glossary Whale Activities Whale Index

WHALE ANATOMY AND BEHAVIOR
General Anatomy Size Pods The Senses Baleen
Reproduction Diet Flukes Sleep Offense/
Defense
Blowhole

Size


The baleen whales are larger than the toothed whales. Female baleen whales are slightly larger than the males.

The biggest whale is the female blue whale, which grows to be about 94 feet (29 m) long - the height of a 9-story building. There are undocumented sighting of blue whales up to 110 feet (34 m) long. These enormous animals need to eat about 4 tons of tiny krill each day, obtained by filter feeding miniscule animals and plants through sieve-like baleen. Adult blue whales have no predators except man. The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived on Earth; it is even bigger than any of the dinosaurs were. The largest dinosaurs were Jurassic period sauropods, long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters that were about 100 feet long but weighed much less than the blue whale.

The smallest whale is the dwarf sperm whale which as an adult is only 8.5 feet (2.6 m) long.

WHALE SIZE OF CALF AT BIRTH SIZE OF ADULT
BALEEN WHALES Blue whale 25 feet long (7.6 m) and weighs about 6-8 tons (5.4-7.3 tonnes) 80 feet (25 m) long on average, weighing about 80-120 tons. The largest specimen found was a female 94 feet (29 m) long weighing more 174 tons (158 tonnes)
Bowhead whale 17 feet long and weighs about 5-6 tons (4.5-5.4 tonnes) 50-60 feet (15-18.5 m) long, weighing over 80-110 tons (72-91 tonnes)
Gray whale 15 feet long and weighs about 1-1.5 ton 5-50 feet (13.8-15 m) long, weighing about 36 tons (33 tonnes)
Humpback whale 4 feet long (4.3 m) and weighs about 2.5 tons (2.3 tonnes) 52 feet (16 m) long, weighing 30-50 tons (27-45 tonnes)
Minke whale 9 feet (2.8 m) long and weighs about 1,000 pounds (454 kg) 25-30 feet (7.8-9 m) long, weighing about 6-7.5 tons (5.4-6.8 tonnes)
Right whales 16-19 feet (4.8-6 m) long Northern right whales females grow to be about 50 feet (15.5 m) long, males are about 49 feet (15 m) long and weigh approximately 120,000 pounds (54,000 kg). Southern right whale females are about 54 feet (16.5 m) long, males are about 50 feet (15.2 m) long.
TOOTHED WHALES Beluga whale 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5 m) long and weighs over 100-140 lbs (45-64 kg) 15 feet (4.6 m) long on average, weighing about 3,300 pounds (1.500 kg)
Bottlenose Dolphin -- 7-12 feet (3.3 m) long, weighing more than 1,400 pounds (635 kg). Most are smaller than this.
Narwhal -- 7-10 feet (2-3 m) long
Orca or killer whale 6.5-8 feet (2-2.5 m) long, weighing up to 400 pounds (180 kg) 27-33 feet (8-10 m) long, weighing more than 8,000-12,000 pounds (3.600-5.400 kg)
Sperm whale 13 feet (4 m) long and weighs about 1 ton (0.9 tonnes) 50-60 feet (17-20 m) long, weighing about 40-50 tons (36-45 tonnes)

Second & Third Grade Whale Size Activity

Graph whale sizes! For grades 2 and 3.





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