The population of blue whales off the California coast has been improving since the banning of whaling. The only issue blue whales are facing today is the fact that ships continue to strike the animals on a yearly basis.
Up to 11 blue whales are struck by ships per year, researchers said, and there is no end in sight for this issue any time soon.
The good news is, the up to 11 blue whales killed by ships every year isn't bad enough to the point where it would threaten the recovery of the species. But that doesn't mean it should be allowed to continue, especially since more ships are expected to be sailing the waters come next year.
"The recovery of California blue whales from whaling demonstrates the ability of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and conservation measures," said Cole Monnahan, a University of Washington doctoral student in quantitative ecology and resource management and lead author of a paper on the subject posted online Sept. 5 by the journal Marine Mammal Science.
Scientists claim that, to save the animals, the shipping lanes should be shifted, but this has not happened, and there is no indication that it will ever happen. At the moment, there are around 2,200 blue whales off the coast of California, which is 97 percent close to the historical population level.
Fun fact: Blue whale feeding grounds are 20 to 30 miles off the coast of California, making them visible as they eat, so unless one of these giant creatures washes up on land, folks on land will have a difficult time having a view of them on a regular basis. They range along the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean from the equator up into the Gulf of Alaska and are also known as eastern North Pacific blue whales.
To make this animal even more awesome, some of its blood vessels are so huge, a human could swim in them. Furthermore, the tongue of this creature is almost the same weight as an elephant, and the heart is the size of a car.
Many individuals might not have realized, but the blue whale is the largest creature on Earth, not the African bull elephant. Full-grown whales stretch 100 feet long and can weigh up to 190 tons. A baby blue whale weighs around 3 tons, and can drink up to 100 gallons of milk per day. That's a lot for a baby blue whale, and we're quite surprised that the babies weigh that much.
