Animals & Nature
Blue Whale
A marine mammal and the largest animal known to have lived on Earth.
The blue whale is a baleen whale found in oceans around the world. Its enormous size is paired with a diet based largely on tiny krill filtered from seawater.
Despite living in water, it is a mammal: it breathes air and nurses its young. This development record is intentionally concise pending the full editorial content pass.
Quick facts
- It is the largest animal known to have lived.
- It is a mammal, not a fish.
- It filters food using baleen plates.
- Blue whales live in oceans.
- Their calls can travel long distances underwater.
A surprising fact
A blue whale’s heart can be comparable in size to a small car.
