NEWS: India accounts for approximately one in seven of the world’s 470 recorded blue whale strandings, with three-quarters of India’s strandings occurring along its west coast.

ABOUT BLUE WHALE

• Scientific Name: Balaenoptera musculus.
• Classification: Order Cetacea → Rorqual (family Balaenopteridae).
• Distribution: Found in all oceans, alone or in small groups; Southern Hemisphere populations are much larger.
• Indian Waters: Arabian Sea + Bay of Bengal + waters around Lakshadweep Islands.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS

• Largest Animal: Most massive animal known to have ever lived.
• Size: Approximately 150 tonnes; length can exceed 30 metres.
• Type: Baleen whale → Filter-feeds using baleen plates.
• Colour: Blue-grey with lighter grey mottling and large spots.
• Diet: Krill (shrimplike crustaceans).
• Migration/Feeding: Feeds in polar waters during summer.

CONSERVATION STATUS

• IUCN Red List: Endangered (EN).
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.