Whales are some of the most fascinating species of marine life on the planet. Many whales like the humpback and blue whale can be found in most of the worlds oceans, but their numbers are getting smaller.

 

 100 years back there were many 100's of thousands of these giant creatures swimming through the Earths Oceans, unfo rtumnately today their numbers have decreased dramatically in the the case of the giant blue whate, oless than 10,00 of these majestic animals exist.

 

 

Many whales have a long gestational cycle and once the baby is born, the baby whale is dependent upon his mother for many years to come, almost as a human child is. A blue whale needs 10 years to grow to sexual maturity and if something happens to mom in those important years, the baby may not have a good chance at survival.

The blue whale is the largest mammal on the planet with the largest reaching over 100 feet. The avarage adult blue whale is 70 to 90 feet and weighs between 100 to 150 tons. During the whales feeding seasons, the whales consume one to two tons of krill daily.

At the turn of the 1900's, blue whales were abundant and found in most of the worlds oceans. The whaling industry of the early and mid part of that century almost annihilated the species. Today, there are fewer than 10,00 blue whales in existence. Records from the 1930's show almost 30,000 whales killed in one year alone, that's 3 times today's population. One also wonders what the actual "unrecorded" numbers may have been. By 1966, Blue whales were so scarce that they put them on the endangered species list, where they remain today.

 

Humpback whales are also a large species of whale that can be found in most of the worlds oceans, their numbers are higher that the blue whale, but as all whales, they have been over hunted.

Humpbacks are known for their song and they use sound as a form of communication that can be heard far through the oceans.

 

 

 A Humpback whale jumps out of the water

 

 Another type of whale is the killer whale, unlike  other large whales that feed on krill and small fish or shrimp, these whales can hunt larger sea animals, even sharks.

 

 

Whales can be found in deep oceans all over the globe and many species have migration patterns that take them thousands of miles a year.

 

The central coast of California is known as a summer area for bothe the Blue Whale and the Humpback. Monterey Bay and Big Sur are known as a great place for whale watching and the whales make their way through there during the fall and summer months on their way across the ocean.