Mammal Monday: It's a biggie

Today we feature the world's largest mammal the Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus

(Image: bbc.co.uk)

(for the whole gallery -it's fab - go to the National Geographic website)

 FACTS

• The largest mammal living today.The heart is about the size of a Volkswagon bug car. A human could crawl through the aorta. How awesome is that?
• Also the largest mammal to have ever lived....bigger than even the largest Dinosaur.
• The longest ever measured was a female, 33.58 m or 110ft long.
• The heaviest weighed over 190 tonnes - weights are estimated from the cut up remains (lovely).An average-sized blue whale will eat 900-4100 kg of plankton each day during the summer feeding season.
• Also the loudest animal on Earth - their call reaches levels up to 188 decibels. This low-frequency whistle can be heard for hundreds of miles. The blue whale is louder than a jet, which reaches only 140 decibels.
• Also endangered, of course.

(Image above and info from: enchantedlearning.com &earthlife.net )