How big is the heart of a blue whale?

By Marylou23/04/2019Ι Education

credit pictures-Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008

Balaenoptera musculus, the blue whale, is the largest animal ever known to have lived on the planet, ranging into all oceans.

The blue whale remains a cosmopolitan species separated into populations from the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Southern Hemisphere. The archipelago of the Azores is on the migration road of the blue whale. We can observe them during the spring season, they are migrating from the south of the planet to the north.

How big is the heart of a blue whale?

With all of that size, the blue whale needs a big heart. In fact, they have the biggest hearts on the planet. The heart of a blue whale weighs more than 450 kilos. A blue whale heart pumps about 230 liters of blood with each beat. The aorta of a blue whale heart is so big that a human being could crawl through it!

credit picture – Human Dynamo Workshop, Ltd., The WhaleHeart.

About Marylou

Marylou is a Marine Biologist and Master in Oceanography. She is one of our Marine Wildlife Guide and is responsible for Science Education at TERRA AZUL. Originally from France, she studied in Canada and Belgium and loves being out to sea to share her knowledge with you.