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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Balaenoptera musculus
Blue Whale

 
Scientific Name: Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)
English Name: Blue Whale
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code: M-BAMU
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Mammalia Cetacea Balaenopteridae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G3G4 (Apr 2016)
Provincial Status: S1N (Mar 2021)
BC List: Red
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status: Endangered (May 2012)
SARA Schedule: 1  -  Endangered (Jan 2005)
General Status Canada:
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description: A very large (the largest living animal) baleen whale; body is mottled bluish gray; head is flat in front of the paired nostrils, broad and nearly U-shaped in dorsal view, with a single median ridge that extends forward from the raised area in front of the nostrils (ridge does not quite reach tip of snout); dorsal fin, located in the last quarter of the back, is very small; throat has 55-68 longitudinal grooves; belly may appear yellowish due to diatom accumulations; flipper are long and slim; baleen is black; potential maximum length is over 30 m, with the largest females averaging slightly longer than the largest males (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).
Global Reproduction Comments: Mates May-September in the Northern Hemisphere. Gestation is reported as 11 or 12 months. Adult females bear one calf every 2-3 years. Young are weaned in about 8 months. Females reach sexual maturity in about 10 years. Maximum lifespan is uncertain; reportedly only about 20 years or up to 80-90 years.
Global Ecology Comments: Usually solitary or in pairs or threes; may congregate in good feeding areas.
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		Y / N
Y / N
Y / N
na / N
Global Migration Comments: Most migrate to high latitude feeding areas for summer, return to lower latitude breeding areas for winter. For example, those that summer off Alaska winter off southern California and Baja California (IUCN 1991). There may be a basically resident or short distance migratory population off California and Baja California. Of individuals tagged off southern California, where apparently they were feeding or foraging, one moved to waters off northern California and four moved southward to Baja California, two passing Cabo San Lucas and one of these moving an additional 3000 km to near the Costa Rican Dome (an upwelling feature), which may be a calving/breeding area (Mate et al. 1999). Data on vocalizations support the idea that blue whales off North America and in the eastern tropical Pacific represent a single stock (Stafford et al. 1999). Hydrophone recordings suggest possible winter and late summer migrations off Oahu (Hawaii) (Thompson and Friedl 1982).
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence) 		Ocean / Pelagic / Obligate
Global Habitat Comments: Mainly pelagic; generally prefers cold waters and open seas, but young are born in warmer waters of lower latitudes.
Provincial Habitat Comments: Marine
Food Habits: Invertivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Eats primarily krill. Feeding occurs primarily in high latitude waters.
Global Phenology: Circadian: Adult, Immature
Global Phenology Comments: Active day and night
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 3050/ / 136000000
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Occurs throughout the world's oceans. Three major breeding groups: North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Antarctic; perhaps a separate breeding population in the Indian Ocean. Seen with some regularity in deep coastal canyons off central and southern California, far inside the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and in the Denmark Strait. See IUCN (1991) for further details. For all practical purposes the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere stocks do not mix (IUCN 1991). Subspecies BREVICAUDA (pygmy blue whale) is known mainly from subantarctic waters of the Indian Ocean and southeast Atlantic; reported also from other areas such as the northern Indian Ocean and off western South America.
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Hammerson, G.
Last Updated: Nov 21, 1995
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
B.C. Ministry of Environment. Recovery Planning in BC. B.C. Minist. Environ. Victoria, BC.
Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp.
Barnes, L. G., and S. A. McLeod. 1984. The fossil record and phyletic relationships of gray whales. Pages 3-32 in Jones, M. L., et al., eds. The gray whale. Academic Press,Orlando, Florida.
Baskin, Y. 1993. Blue whale population may be increasing off California. Science 260:287.
COSEWIC. 2002o. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 32 pp.
Folkens, P. 1984. The whale watcher's handbook. Doubleday Co., Inc., Garden City, NY 208 pp.
Godin, A. J. 1977. Wild mammals of New England. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 304 pp.
Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I & II. John Wiley & Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp.
IUCN (World Conservation Union). 1991. Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book. M. Klinowska (compiler). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, United Kingdom. viii + 429 pp.
Jones, J. K., Jr., D. C. Carter, H. H. Genoways, R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, and C. Jones. 1986. Revised checklistof North American mammals north of Mexico, 1986. Occas. Papers Mus., Texas Tech Univ., 107:1-22.
Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
Katona, S. K., V. Rough, and D. T. Richardson. 1983. A Field guide to the whales, porpoises, and seals of the gulf of Maine and eastern Canada. Cape Cod to Newfoundland. Charles Scribner's Sons, N.Y. 255 pp.
Leatherwood, S., and R. R. Reeves. 1983. The Sierra Club handbook of whales and dolphins. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. 302 pp.
Mate, B. R., B. A. Lagerquist, and J. Calambokidis. 1999. Movements of North Pacific blue whales during the feeding season off southern California and their southern fall migration. Marine Mammal Science 15:1246-1257.
Matthews, J.R. and C.J. Moseley (eds.). 1990. The Official World Wildlife Fund Guide to Endangered Species of North America. Volume 1. Plants, Mammals. xxiii + pp 1-560 + 33 pp. appendix + 6 pp. glossary + 16 pp. index. Volume 2. Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes, Mussels, Crustaceans, Snails, Insects, and Arachnids. xiii + pp. 561-1180. Beacham Publications, Inc., Washington, D.C.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 1985. Annual Report 1984/1985, Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 1987. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Annual Report 1986/87.
Nowak, R. M. 1991. Walker's mammals of the world. Fifth edition. Vols. I and II. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore. 1629 pp.
Ridgway, S. H., and R. J. Harrison. 1985. Handbook of marine mammals. Vol. 3. The sirenians and baleen whales. Academic Press, New York. 362 pp.
Small, G.L. 1971. The blue whale. Columbia University Press. 248 pp.
Stafford, K. M., S. L. Nieukirk, and C. G. Fox. 1999. An acoustic link between blue whales in the eastern tropical Pacific and the northeast Pacific. Marine Mammal Science 15:1258-1268.
Thompson, P.O. and W.A. Friedl. 1982. A long term studyof low frequency sounds from several species of whales off Oahu, Hawaii. Cetology 45:1-19.
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1995. Species Summary: Balaenoptera musculus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Apr 4, 2026).