World's Largest Animal in Danger?
By: Zac Austin
Heno09, Mar C. "Underwater Blue Whale." #7023655. N.p., 09 Apr. 2105. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Description and Ecology:
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| "ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME PAGE." ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME PAGE. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. |
The blue whale is a spectacular phenomena. It is the largest animal ever known to have lived on the Earth. The average length on theses massive creatures are about 25 to 33 meters. They live mostly everywhere except the north and south poles. Throughout the 20th century blue whales were an important whaling target. The soviet union though persisted on whaling even after it was protected and commercial whaling stopped in 1964. Blue whales are mostly like any other baleen whale where they will stay and eat in colder water and migrate to more warmer regions to breed and give birth. Socially however, these whales travel mostly in pairs of two. Unlike wolves where they travel in packs. An interesting known fact about blue whales though is that they have the most powerful and deepest voice in the Animal Kingdom. So with this tactic whales are able to stay in contact with one another hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles away. As far as their diet, these whales eat about 40 million krill in summer feeding each day!
Geographic and Population Changes:
From 1904 to 1967 whaling was eminent. More than 350,000 were killed in the Southern hemisphere. As far as the current population and distribution of whales, they live mostly everywhere. Despite the how much of the oceans they cover, the rarity of them is far less. Most scientists believe that they are one of the most endangered great whales. Despite the negative outcome of these great species, biologits are soon finding some positive growth of these species. They have found about 2,000 of them in the eastern North Pacific.
"Sustainable Whaling in Icelandic Waters Questions and Answers." Atvinnuvega- Og Nýsköpunarráðuneytið. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Listing:
The blue whale was first protected by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling in 1966. Four years later they were added to the list under the Endangered Species Conservation Act. Once the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed in 1973 the blue whale was then added to this list. Another list that the blue whale is listed under is the Marine Mammal Protection Act as depleted.
"Blue Whale: Federally Endangered Listing Information, Alaska Department of Fish and Game." Blue Whale: Federally Endangered Listing Information, Alaska Department of Fish and Game. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Factors of Endangerment: (ESA listed factors)
- Vessel interactions
- Collisions with ships
- Entrapment by fishing gear
- Habitat Degredation
- Military Operations
- Hunting
cd Much of the recovery plan is to just stabilize the growth of the blue whales to an appropriate population size. Once this has happened then they will be able to remove from the Endangered and into the threatened status.
Recovery Outline:
- Determine Stock Structure
- Estimate Size and Monitor trends of Populations
- Identify and Protect Habitat
- Reduce or Eliminate Human-caused injury
- Minimize detremental effects of vessels
- Acquire scientific evidence from deceased whales
- Coordinate with State, Federal, and International Efforts to Implement Recovery Plans
- Establish Criteria for unlisting the blue whales
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