Big Blue Whale washed ashore by Barbora Misakova

If you belong to these who are fascinated by the unusual and unique creations of nature, then you would be more than pleased by discovery of big blue whale which was washed ashore in Northern California. Balaenoptera musculus, as it is called in Latin is the largest animal ever known to have existed. It was even bigger than Brachiosaurus which used to be about 50 feet tall and 85 feet long. Until 20th century this incredible animals were living in nearly all the oceans, but then they were hunted almost to extinction. Reports from 2002 estimated there were 5,000 to 12,000 Blue Whales worldwide. This incredibly big mammal (it can be 80 – 100 feet long!) has a long taper! ing body, flat U-shaped head and a prominent ridge which runs from the blowhole to the top of the upper lip. Even though it is very difficult (if even possible) to weigh big Blue Whales, it is estimated that the weight of a 30 meters individual can be about 180 metric tons, and only whale’s tongue weighs around 2.7 metric tons. For those of you who have the same problem as me and can hardly imagine such a big creature, it could be really great and unique opportunity to see that 70-foot, female blue whale that has washed ashore on the Northern California coast. This incredible animal was first spotted on shore near Fort Bragg in Mendocino County on Monday night. After few hours it was reported that an ocean survey vessel hit a whale. The dead whale had two gashes on its back; otherwise it appeared to be in good health. Whales are usually far offshore and deep water animal that’s why the appearance of such a great creature washed on the shore is always unforgettab! le experience.

related story (sgx15689)! : http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091021/ap_on_re_us/us_beached_b...

by Barbora Misakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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