Diving with Blue Whales

Diving with Blue whales is very rare, they are hard to find, spending lots of their time at depth and are most commonly seen from boats or on whale watching cruises or helicopter flights. 

On Dive Report we list whale and dolphin species in our animal calendar, but please be aware that with Blue Whales this does not necessarily mean that you can easily dive with them in the locations listed. We have included them as there is a chance of them being spotted from the boat in transit or between dives, which is still exciting adding to the overall dive trip experience.

Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. These magnificent marine mammals rule the oceans at up to 30 meters long and upwards of 200 tons. But due to their size, these animals are difficult to weigh. Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant and their hearts, as much as an automobile! Their average life span in the wild is between 80 to 90 years. 

Blue whales feed almost exclusively on krill, during certain times of the year, a single adult blue whale consumes about 4 tons of krill a day. Blue whales typically feed at depths of more than 100 meters during the day and only surface-feed at night. Dive times are typically 10 minutes when feeding. The blue whale also accidentally eats small fish, crustaceans and squid caught up with krill.

Blue whales live in all the world's oceans occasionally swimming in small groups but usually alone or in pairs. They often spend summers feeding in polar waters and undertake lengthy migrations towards the Equator as winter arrives.

Blue whales have few predators but are known to fall victim to attacks by sharks and killer whales. Moreover, many are injured or die each year from impacts with large ships. Blue whales are currently classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List.