A nearly two-decade study of whale songs recorded in the Southern Ocean suggests that blue whales, the largest creatures ever to have roamed the Earth, may be recovering in Antarctica after being hunted to the edge of extinction.
A nearly two-decade study of whale songs recorded in the Southern Ocean suggests that blue whales, the largest creatures ever to have roamed the Earth, may be recovering in Antarctica after being hunted to the edge of extinction.
Commercial whaling reduced the number of Antarctic blue whales from around 125,000 in the early 1990s to a few thousand today. But bans on whaling have made it possible for the critically endangered creatures to begin to rebound.
Measuring up to 100 feet long and weighing up 200 tons, blue whales can grow to the size of a passenger airplane, and make even more of a ruckus. The loudest animal on the planet, a blue whale can sing at a volume upwards of 180 decibels — louder than a jet engine.
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
A blue whale. (Photo Credit: Mike Johnson/Australian Antarctic Division)
