The nature, plant and animal life are so various and surprising that still the mankind could not understand and learn their many secrets. The fact that at the largest animals who existed on our planet for all its history - blue whales – heartbeat the slowest is amazing, for example. However, blue whales provide many reasons for surprise.
Blue whale and his slow heartEven if to take into account the giants inhabiting Earth millions years ago – brachiosaurs, blue whales all the same surpass them in size, their weight more than twice exceeds the weight of these fossil animals. If to compare a blue whale to the second largest modern animal living on the planet, the African elephant, then superiority of a whale is undoubted – it 38 times heavier than an elephant. Average length of a blue whale is equal to 26 meters, and the biggest whale, from ever seen by the person, reached in length of 33.5 meters. On average such whale of 150 tons, approximately as much how many 2400 people weigh weighs.
At all this, the frequency of heartbeat of a blue whale the slowest of all animals – during immersion it makes from only 4 to 8 beats per minute. Blood supplies only a brain and heart of the giant at this time. By the way, his heart weighs about 650 kg and by the sizes is comparable to the small Mini Cooper car. The main aorta surpasses in diameter the biggest in the world the water pipe located in the territory of London and maintains a bigger pressure. Also it is heard as heart of a whale works, it is very far – at distance several dozen of kilometer these sounds easily catch the acoustic devices located by the ships. Heart of a whale is a reliable and wearproof pump with big efficiency, any designer did not manage to realize similar technical solutions yet.
As there live blue whales
Once blue whales inhabited all oceans, but gradually their number decreased, besides, whale trade became the reason that today the Arctic population of these animals contains by different estimates, from several hundred to several thousand. More exact calculation is not possible, considering a deep-water area of dwelling of blue whales. To live, this giant needs to eat daily about 1 ton of a krill – the small crustaceans and shrimps living in a surface water of the ocean that on power value makes about 1 million calories. Floating through the layers rich with a krill, whales swallow one hundred tons of water and crustaceans, and then push out water, filtering a krill through a sieve of "baleen" - the numerous horn plates which are hanging down from the sky.
The mouth of a whale represents the spacious room about 24 sq.m.
During the whole year the whales migrate – in the summer they "are grazed" in the subpolar areas of Antarctic, and by winter get over in warm equatorial waters, overcoming not one thousand miles of a way. At the same time "on the way" they can absolutely is nothing, spending that fat stock which was acquired on summer or winter pastures. I travel whales usually alone, sometimes in couples and can communicate, making the intensive sounds of low frequency reaching the level of 188 DB that allows to hear them to relatives who are at distance about 1500 km.
In a quiet state the whale floats with a speed of 10-15 km/h, but sometimes gathers speed to 35-40 km/h which, however, can support very not for long, only several minutes.
Females of whales bear cubs within 11 months, 7th meter newborn "kid" weighing 2 tons is capable to drink daily more than 0.5 tons of fat maternal milk and in a week to double the initial weight, by this time they can already provide themselves with livelihood independently. Adults whales become only in 4.5 years, and reach a full physical maturity by 14-15 years.