Discover The Biggest Whales In The World

Whales are the largest animals on the planet by far, dwarfing most living creatures today. There are around 90 different species of whales varying greatly in size, but one whale claims the title of being the largest animal in the world. This list will show you ten of the biggest whales in the world.

Blue Whale

At the top of the list, the largest whale species is the Blue whale, which can grow up to 98 feet and can weigh as much as 200 tons, approximately as heavy as 33 elephants. Aside from being the largest whale species on earth. Blue whales are also the loudest animal on earth, and they can even be louder than a jet engine. A jet reaches about 140 decibels, but a blue whale’s call can reach 188 decibels. 

Even the low-frequency whistle of these whales can be heard for hundreds of miles. As their name suggests, Blue whales have a dark blue color with a paler underside. Unfortunately, commercial whaling drastically brought down the number of existing blue whales. Today Blue whales can be found in the North Atlantic, 

North Pacific and in some parts of the Southern Hemisphere.

Meet The Other Whales

Fin Whale

The Fin whale species is the second largest of all whale species, as it can grow up to 90 feet. Fin whales are also known as Finback whales and were formerly known as Herring whales or Razorback whales. 

These whales got their name from the easy-to-spot fin on their backs, near their tails. Fin whales. In addition, a very unusual feature is their lower right jaw is bright white, and the lower-left jaw is black.

Sperm Whale 

Sperm whales are the largest toothed whale and have a wide range of habitable environments for this species.  These whales can be found in all deep oceans, from the equator to the edge of the pack of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. 

Sperm whales are easily identified by their massive heads and prominent rounded foreheads. It can grow up to 67 feet. The female Sperm whales prefer to travel and live in groups. Meanwhile, male Sperm whales prefer to live in solitary except when it’s time for mating. 

Right Whale 

Also known as Black Whales, they are a collection of three closely similar whale species: The North Atlantic Right whale, the North Pacific Right whale, and the Southern Right whale. These whales can grow up to 60 feet and weigh up to 100 tons or even slightly over. 

Right whales can be identified by their enormous head that can measure about 1/3 of their entire body length. They got their name from the whalers who discovered them as the “right” whale to be killed on a hunt. As for they’re well known for their abundant oil and baleen, which were used for buggy whips, corsets, and other contrivances.

Bowhead Whale

The Bowhead whale is named after its unique characteristic, which is a massive triangular skull. With this characteristic, the Bowhead whale uses it to break through the Arctic ice. These whales are one of the few whale species that almost exclusively reside in the Arctic. 

Out of all the large whales existing, Bowheads are well adapted to life in icy water. Bowhead whales can grow up to 62 feet, and they can weigh up to 200,000 pounds which are as heavy as 15 000 bowling balls.

Humpback Whale

Humpback whale is also known in Latin as “Megaptera Novaeangliae,” meaning big wings of New England, referring to its giant pectoral fins that can grow up to 52 feet long, and their appearance in New England. 

These whales are popular with whale watchers as they’re known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors. Large Humpback whales can weigh 30 pounds or more in maturity.

Sei Whale 

Seihval is a Norwegian derived from the word “sei,” meaning coal fish found in the Norwegian waters, and “hval,” meaning whale. These whales can reach up to 52 feet and weigh as much as 28 tons. 

The Sei whale is one of the fastest whales as its speed reaches 30 miles per hour. The said whale can be identified by its dark grey color and its irregular white marking on the front of its body.

Gray Whale

The gray whale is aptly named after its gray color and can be seen to be full of white scars around its body from thousands of parasites latching on it and dropping off. 

Gray whales reach up to 49 feet long and weigh up to 36 tons, with some even weighing more than that. These whales are one of the most aggressive whales to be hunted, earning the nickname the “devil fish” as they tend to attack anyone who harpoons them.

Bryde’s Whale 

The Bryde's whale is named after the Norwegian whaler John Bryde who established the first modern whaling station. These whales can grow up to 46 feet and weigh up to 25 tons. 

These whales reside in tropical and subtropical waters of the Caribbean, California, Hawaii, and Mexico. Bryde’s whales prefer to stay in pairs, but they can also be seen in larger groups when feeding. 

Minke Whale 

We start the list with the Minke whale who reaches up to 35 meters large and weighs up to 5 tons which is a pretty large animal by itself already, but it is only the second smallest baleen whale which shows how big whales can get and still be the tenth-largest whale on the list. 

These whales are black, dark gray, or purple, living up to 50 long years. Minke whales are divided into two major groups depending on where they live, the first group is the Northern Minke whale, and the second group is the Antarctic Minke whale. On average, these whales can live between 40 to 50 years.

Wrapping Up 

Regardless of the size of a whale, we must always know how to take care of them. Taking care in a sense that we should start it by keeping the oceans clean. Through this, you’re not only saving these giant creatures; you’re also saving the entire marine life.

You can also carry with you the spirit of peacefulness of these gentle giants of the sea by wearing our ATOLEA Whale-inspired jewelry collections. Designs were carefully crafted and detailed making them unique and wearable on any outfit. So dive into our Ocean-inspired jewelry collections and show your love with the Ocean!