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Story: Whales

Comparative sizes of whales

Comparative sizes of whales

As this diagram shows, the blue whale is huge – the world’s largest animal. It can measure up to 30 metres long and weigh up to 150 tonnes. Maximum lengths are shown here.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Bruce Mahalski

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Whales – Blue whales and fin whales, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/7079/comparative-sizes-of-whales (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

Kahu
27 October 2011
Whales die do to dehydration.Some beaches are whale traps.One beach that is a whale trap is the Golden beach located in New Zealand Pneumonia is a common cause of stranding in the north eastern united states area. They also die from there own weight because they are so big. Some ways to prevent stranding is to put more sand on the beaches so it is harder to beach themselves.