Blue whale  (Balaenoptera musculus)

Found in the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Indian Oceans, with a range that extends from the periphery of drift-ice in polar seas to the tropics (5). Three main populations persist: one in the southern hemisphere, one in the North Pacific and one in the North Atlantic (4). It is thought that less than 5,000 individuals remain (2).

The blue whale inhabits the open ocean, where it is found most frequently along the continental shelf edge and near polar ice (2).