The great blue whale

The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales Mysticeti.  At 30 metres (98 ft)  in length and 180 metric tons (200 short tons)  or more in weight, it is the largest animal ever known to have existed.

Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small krill.



Blue whales were abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth until the beginning of the twentieth century. For over a century, they were hunted almost to extinction by whalers until protected by the international community in 1966. A 2002 report estimated there were 5,000 to 12,000 blue whales worldwide, located in at least five groups. More recent research into the Pygmy subspecies suggests this may be an underestimate.

 Those sad facts are commonly known. Also that Japan is still hunting whales masking it as "scientific research". 

Its good to hear that Japan has cancelled their whaling season ahead of schedule because of the reckless dedication of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 

Here´s the Link.