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Animal Size

Fin whale size: How big do they get?

How big does a Fin whale get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:

A grown Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) reaches an average size of 20.65 meter (67′ 9″).

When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 116 years, they grow from 1900 kg (4188.78 lbs) to 47503 kg (104726.07 lbs). A Fin whale has 1 babies at once. The Fin whale (genus: Balaenoptera) is a member of the family Balaenopteridae.

As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.

The average adult size of a Fin whale is (67' 9

The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-largest species on Earth after the blue whale. The largest reportedly grow to 27.3 m (89.6 ft) long with a maximum confirmed length of 25.9 m (85 ft), a maximum recorded weight of nearly 74 tonnes (73 long tons; 82 short tons), and a maximum estimated weight of around 114 tonnes (112 long tons; 126 short tons). American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale “the greyhound of the sea … for its beautiful, slender body is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship.”The fin whale’s body is long and slender, coloured brownish-grey with a paler underside. The fin whale is a large baleen whale that belongs to the Cetacean order, which includes all species of whale, dolphin, and porpoise. At least two recognized subspecies exist, in the North Atlantic and the Southern Hemisphere. It is found in all the major oceans, from polar to tropical waters. It is absent only from waters close to the ice pack at the poles and relatively small areas of water away from the open ocean. The highest population density occurs in temperate and cool waters. Its food consists of small schooling fish, squid, and crustaceans including copepods and krill.Like all other large whales, the fin whale was heavily hunted during the 20th century. As a result, it is an endangered species. Over 725,000 fin whales were reportedly taken from the Southern Hemisphere between 1905 and 1976; as of 1997 only 38,000 survived. Recovery of the overall population size of southern subspecies is predicted to be at less than 50% of its pre-whaling state by 2100 due to heavier impacts of whaling and slower recovery rates.The International Whaling Commission (IWC) issued a moratorium on commercial hunting of this whale, although Iceland and Japan have resumed hunting. The species is also hunted by Greenlanders under the IWC’s Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling provisions. Global population estimates range from less than 100,000 to roughly 119,000.

Animals of the same family as a Fin whale

We found other animals of the Balaenopteridae family:

Animals with the same size as a Fin whale

Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Fin whale:

  • Sei whale with a size of 17.44 meter (57′ 3″)

Animals with the same litter size as a Fin whale

Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Fin whale:

Animals with the same life expectancy as a Fin whale

Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Fin whale: