The blue whale is a massive creature and is the largest living animal in the world; even larger than most dinosaurs.

The largest of the blue whales can measure in at over 100 ft in length and can weigh in excess of 180 tons at its largest.

In fact everything about the blue whale is large including its, arteries and its heart.

On average most blue whales grow to be around 70 – 90 ft in length, weigh around 100 – 150 tons.

In order to get blood through the blue whales large body it has massive arteries, which pump blood through the heart and into its major vital organs.

The arteries are so large in fact that a full size human could swim through them.

The aorta alone measures in at over 9 inches!

The blue whales heart can weigh in excess of 1,300 lbs.

In terms of size the blue whales heart is about the size of a small car.

At a rate of 8 – 10 beats per minute the blue whale’s heartbeat can be heard from over 2 miles away.

In comparison to a blue whale a dolphins heart has a heart rate of 35 – 45 beats per minute and a humans heart has an average heart rate of around 60 – 80 beats per minute.

When comparing the heart of a human to the heart of a blue whale the average size of a humans heart is about the same size as that individuals fist and weighs less than a pound in most healthy adults, while a blue whales heart is comparable to a Volkswagen beetle in terms of size and can weigh more than 1,300 lbs.

If you’ve ever seen a ten story building it will give you an idea of just how big the blue whale is.

Other interesting information about the blue whale

Even at birth a baby blue whale is large; measuring in at 25 ft long (the size of an adult killer whale) the baby blue whale can drink up to 150 gallons of milk a day and gain as much as 200 lbs per day in its first year.

To keep its energy up an adult blue whale can consume as many as 40 million krill per day or 8,000 lbs. of krill daily!

During migration periods the blue whale can forgo eating for several months living almost exclusively off of energy which is stored in its blubber.

Despite the name “blue whale” this marine mammal actually appears to be closer to a grayish blue coloring.

The deep blue color you see when you observe a blue whale is actually because it is submerged underwater, which makes the whale appear to be a deep blue.

Even though the blue whale is extremely large it has a relatively slender body allowing it to travel up to 30 miles per hour for short bursts when it feels threatened or startled.

The largest confirmed measurement of a blue whale was 109 ft and the heaviest blue whale weighed an estimated 200 tons.