Blue whale

Blue whale, member (Balaenoptera musculus) of the rorqual family of baleen whales. The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived—up to 100 ft (30 m) in length and 220 tons (200 metric tons) in weight. Baleen whales have no teeth. Instead, thin plates in their mouths (called baleen) strain out tiny organisms, called plankton, on which the whales feed. Blue whales live in all oceans, but breed in warm waters. Like other whales, they are mammals; they bear live young and suckle them on milk. A newborn blue whale may be over 20 ft (6.1 m) long and weigh 3 tons (2.7 metric tons). Today, the blue whale is an endangered species because of excessive whaling.