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Blue Whale Habitat

The North Atlantic Blue Whale habitat

Some studies suggest that the number of Blue Whales in this region is around 600, while other estimations propose that there might actually be up to 1500 Blue Whales living here. Balaenoptera musculus musculus is the name given to the north Atlantic (and north Pacific) subspecies.  What we do know for sure is that there are at least to separate stocks living in this Blue Whale habitat. The first group is comprised of roughly 500 individuals and inhabits the waters off Greenland, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The second group lives further east. They have been seen around the Azores in spring, and they travel north to the Icelandic waters to spend the summer season there. They are believed to follow the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between these two hotspots. Occasional sightings of Blue Whales have occurred as far north as Spitsbergen and Jan Mayen.

The North-East Pacific Blue Whale habitat

The largest known concentration of Blue Whales is found in the North-East Pacific Blue Whale habitat. This population consists of at least 2,000 whales and the habitat stretches from Alaska in the north to Costa Rica in Central America. Members of this population are known to occasionally enter the North-West Pacific Blue Whale habitat. They have for instance been spotted north of Japan. Balaenoptera musculus musculus is the name of the north Pacific (and north Atlantic) subspecies.

The Antarctic Blue Whale habitat

The whales living in this Blue Whale habitat is considered a distinct subspecies, Balaenoptera musculus intermedia. It is hard to know exactly how many Blue Whales that inhabit these waters, but most experts believe that the number is somewhere between 1100 and 1700. During the winter, a part of the population will migrate towards the eastern South Atlantic coast. Balaenoptera musculus intermedia have been spotted as such diverse locations as the coasts of Australia, Chile and Peru. Some will even venture into the Indian Ocean Blue Whale habitat. We still know very little about the whales living in the Antarctic Blue Whale habitat, but there seem to be an important feeding aggregation off the coast of the Chiloe Island in Chile.

The Indian Ocean Blue Whale habitat

This Blue Whale habitat is home to a subspecies named Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda; more commonly known as the Pygmy Blue Whale. The exact number of Pygmy Blue Whales is not known yet. A 1996 assessment indicates that there were over 400 Pygmy Blue Whales living in a fairly small region south of Madagascar, but it is hard to make any general estimation based on this population density alone. Another distinct resident population is suspected to be living in the waters of Sri Lanka, Oman and the Maldives in the northern Indian Ocean.