In early march of 2009 a new calf was born. This young whale will have to nurse and be tended to by its mother for two to three years before it goes off on its own to survive against pollution and man’s predation. These whales produce patterned sequences of powerful, low frequency calls that have the lowest voices of any whale, vocalizing as low as 14 hz at volumes up to 200 decibels. Sounds at this frequency and intensity can travel for thousands of miles in the deep ocean. These sounds may be used to communicate with other whales to navigate by creating a sonic image of distant oceanic features.

The endangered blue whales are found in all oceans of the world, from the tropics to the drift ice of polar waters. Its populations have been severely depleted throughout its range due to commercial whaling. They are slate to grayish blue and mottled with lighter spots, particularly on the back and shoulders. The undersides often become covered with microorganisms, giving the belly a yellowish tinge. Because of this blue whales are sometimes called “sulphur-bottom”. Northern hemisphere blue whales seem to travel shorter distances than their southern cousins between rich feeding areas and may breed in some of these areas, such as the costa rica dome, west of the Galapagos islands and the gulf of california. The blue whale occurs mostly in cold and temperate waters. It prefers deeper ocean waters as opposed to coastal waters. Its diet consists almost entirely of shrimp like crustaceans known as krill, which it eats during the summer feeding season. Read the rest of this entry »