Gender

A post-mortem examination of the blue whale confirmed it was a female.

A Blue Whale skeleton
A Blue Whale skeleton

We do not know how old she was when she died, but she was probably quite young.

Female blue whales generally grow about 5% larger than the males. This is thought to be because their blubber must supply them with enough energy to nurture their calves.

Image credits:

All images © Craig Hayslip, Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

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