Blue whale underwater closeup photo. This picture of a blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, shows it swimming through the open ocean, a rare underwater view. Since this blue whale was approximately 80-90' long and just a few feet from the camera, an extremely wide lens was used to photograph the entire enormous whale.
Two blue whales, a mother and her calf, swim through the open ocean in this aerial photograph. The calf is blowing (spouting, exhaling) with a powerful column of spray. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Blue whale underwater photo showing entire whale head (rostrum) to tail (fluke). This picture of a blue whale shows it swimming through the open ocean, a rare underwater view. Specialized underwater camera gear, including an extremely wide lens, was used to capture the entire enormous whale in a single photograph.
The blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth. Depending on which expert is cited, blue whales once attained lengths of 100 to 120 feet (32 meters) and have weighed up to 160 tons (145 metric tonnes). Blue whales are found throughout the worlds oceans. Estimates put their worldwide population at approximately 10% that of prewhaling size, and blue whales are listed as endangered throughout their range. The population of blue whales in the Southern Ocean was hunted especially hard.
Enormous blue whale, exhaling as it surfaces from a dive, aerial photo. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, exceeding 100' in length and 200 tons in weight.
Blue whales, adult and juvenile (likely mother and calf), swimming together side by side underwater in the open ocean.
Blue whales feeding on krill underwater closeup photo. A picture of a blue whale with its throat pleats inflated with a mouthful of krill. A calf swims behind and below the adult. Over 80' long and just a few feet from the camera, an extremely wide lens was used to photograph the entire enormous whale.
Blue whales can swim fast, with bursts up to 20 knots. Long and streamlined, they are capable of sustaining speeds of 5 to 10 knots while traveling or foraging for food. Enormous muscles in a blue whale's caudal flanks and peduncle power its wide flukes up and down.
Blue whale 80-feet long, full body photograph of an enormous blue whale showing rostrom head to fluke tail, taken at close range with very wide lens.
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Blue whales are most easily identified by their huge size, tall blows (up to 30 feet high), blue/gray mottled skin color, and typically rounded (falcate) dorsal fin. Skin pigment patterns along the dorsal ridge, near the dorsal fin, are photographed by scientists in order to identify individual whales. The tips of a blue whale's fluke are rather pointed, and the trailing edge of the fluke is usually smooth and straight with a median notch. Blue whales are closely related to fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), which are also huge, but the body of a blue whale is mottled and lighter in color and its dorsal fin is not as tall and pronounced as that of the fin whale. Also, the right lip and baleen plate of the fin whale is light colored and the underside of its body is white. (Blue and fin whales are thought to occasionally interbreed (Calambokidis)). Seen from a distance, blue whales resting or swimming just below the surface appear to be large sandbars.
Blue whale skeleton in Antarctica, on the shore at Port Lockroy, Antarctica. This skeleton is composed primarily of blue whale bones, but there are believed to be bones of other baleen whales included in the skeleton as well.
Blue whale, swimming through the open ocean.
Blue whale. The sleek hydrodynamic shape of the enormous blue whale allows it to swim swiftly through the ocean, at times over one hundred miles in a single day.
Scientists estimate that the largest blue ever to have lived probably weighed more than 200 tons -- 400,000 pounds -- and was more massive than an entire herd of thirty African elephants. A truly impressive beast, indeed. Blue whales dwarf even the largest dinosaurs, being nearly twice the size of the largest prehistoric land dweller Brachiosaurus. A small child could crawl through the chambers of a blue whale's immense heart, or out one of its twin blowholes. Scientific accounts cite individual blue whales nearly 100 feet in length while less reliable whaling records reported giants up to 110 feet long. The largest subspecies of blue whale, intermedia, inhabits Antarctic regions while the slightly smaller musculus is found in northern hemisphere oceans.
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this aerial photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Blue whale aerial photo, with the shadow of the survey plane providing scale as to how huge the whale really is.
Blue whale fluking up (raising its tail) before a dive to forage for krill, Baja California (Mexico).
All of the above photographs are of blue whales in the eastern North Pacific stock, a population that ranges from Baja California to at least as north as Oregon. Whales from this stock are often seen migrating north along the Pacific coast in spring and summer, typically stopping near Point Conception or the Farallon Islands to feed on aggregations of krill in August and September.
Blue whale, raising fluke prior to diving for food, fluking up, lifting tail as it swims in the open ocean foraging for food.
Blue whale, exhaling as it surfaces from a dive, aerial photo. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, exceeding 100' in length and 200 tons in weight.
Blue whale and San Onofre Nuclear Power generating station, raising fluke prior to diving for food, fluking up, lifting its tail as it swims in the open ocean foraging for food.
A blue whale spouts at sunset. The blow, or spout, of a blue whale can reach 30 feet into the air. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on earth.
A blue whale eating krill. This blue whale is seen feeding and surfacing amid krill with its throat fully engorged with krill and water. It will push the water back out with its tongue, trapping the krill in its baleen which acts like a filter. Aerial photo, Baja California.
Aerial photo of blue whale near San Diego as it swims on its side turning and blows a bubble of air out of its blowhole. This enormous blue whale glides at the surface of the ocean, resting and breathing before it dives to feed on subsurface krill.
Aerial photo of blue whale near San Diego. This enormous blue whale glides at the surface of the ocean, resting and breathing before it dives to feed on subsurface krill.
Blue whale, exhaling in a huge blow as it swims at the surface between deep dives. The blue whale's blow is a combination of water spray from around its blowhole and condensation from its warm breath.
Blue whale, exhaling in a huge blow as it swims at the surface between deep dives. The blue whale's blow is a combination of water spray from around its blowhole and condensation from its warm breath.
Blue whale, exhaling as it surfaces from a dive, aerial photo. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, exceeding 100' in length and 200 tons in weight.
Blue whale, exhaling in a huge blow as it swims at the surface between deep dives. The blue whale's blow is a combination of water spray from around its blowhole and condensation from its warm breath.
Blue whale underwater closeup photo. This incredible picture of a blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, shows it swimming through the open ocean, a rare underwater view.
Blue whale underwater closeup photo. This incredible picture of a blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, shows it swimming through the open ocean, a rare underwater view.
Blue whale swims at the surface of the ocean in this aerial photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, exceeding 100' in length and 200 tons in weight.
Blue whale, exhaling as it surfaces from a dive, aerial photo. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived on Earth, exceeding 100' in length and 200 tons in weight.
Blue whale, exhaling in a huge blow as it swims at the surface between deep dives. The blue whale's blow is a combination of water spray from around its blowhole and condensation from its warm breath.
Blue whale fluke, powerful tail that propels the huge whale through the open ocean.
Blue whale, the largest animal ever to live on earth, underwater view in the open ocean.
Blue whale feeding on krill underwater closeup photo. A picture of a blue whale with its throat pleats inflated with a mouthful of krill.
Blue whale, raising fluke prior to diving for food, fluking up, lifting tail as it swims in the open ocean foraging for food.
Blue whale, adult and juvenile (likely mother and calf), swimming together side by side underwater in the open ocean.
Blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, swims through the open ocean, underwater view.
Blue whale fluking. An enormous blue whale raises its powerful fluke (tail) high out of the water as it makes a steep dive into the open ocean.
A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Blue whale, raising fluke prior to diving for food, fluking up, lifting tail as it swims in the open ocean foraging.
Blue whale, exhaling in a huge blow as it swims at the surface between deep dives. The blue whale's blow is a combination of water spray from around its blowhole and condensation from its warm breath.
Blue whale, caudal stem, fluke with median notch.
Blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, swims through the open ocean, raising fluke (tail) before making a deep dive.
Pelagic red tuna crab, open ocean.
An enormous blue whale raises its fluke (tail) high out of the water before diving. Open ocean offshore of San Diego.
An enormous blue whale swims in front of whale watchers on a private yacht. Only a small portion of the whale, which dwarfs the boat and may be 70 feet or more in length, can be seen. Open ocean offshore of San Diego.
Blue whale underwater, Baja California.
An enormous blue whale rounds out (hunches up its back) before diving. Note the distinctive mottled skin pattern and small, falcate dorsal fin. Open ocean offshore of San Diego.
Water falling from a blue whale fluke as the whale dives to forage for food in the Santa Barbara Channel.
A blue whale raises its fluke before diving in search of food. The blue whale is the largest animal on earth, reaching 80 feet in length and weighing as much as 300,000 pounds. North Coronado Island is in the background.
An enormous blue whale raises its fluke (tail) high out of the water before diving. Open ocean offshore of San Diego.
Krill. Likely Euphausia pacifica. A thin cloud of pink krill gathers at the ocean surface, where it is likely to be preyed upon by sharks, fish, birds and whales.
Coccineis ceticola diatoms grow on the skin of a blue whale. The thin brown film of commensal parasitic Coccineis diatoms, likely the species Coccineis ceticola, are often found on the skin of large cetaceans.
Blue whale, blows (exhales).
Blue whale, raising fluke prior to diving for food.
Blue whale, raising fluke prior to diving for food.
Blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, swims through the open ocean, underwater view.
Krill, Baja California (Pacific Ocean).
Blue whale dorsal flank and remora.
Blue whale, open blowholes, rounding out.
Blue whale footprint left behind by diving whale, Baja California.
Fishing boat fishing near blue whale feces.
Pelagic red tuna crabs, Coronado Islands.
Blue whale, blowhole of inquisitive adult, underwater view close up.
The splashguard of this approaching blue whale pushes water aside so that it can open its blowholes (which are just behind the splashguard) to breathe. Open ocean offshore of San Diego.
An enormous blue whale rounds out (hunches up its back) before diving. Note the distinctive mottled skin pattern and small, falcate dorsal fin. Open ocean offshore of San Diego.
Blue whale, swimming through the open ocean.
A rainbow forms in the blow (spout) of this enormous blue whale at it is stretched out at the surface, resting and slowly swimming, during a break between feeding dives. Open ocean offshore of San Diego.