Baby Blue Whales Gain Around 8 Pounds Every Hour

The blue whale claims the title for having the largest babies in the world, with most newborn calves weighing in around 5,000 to 6,000 pounds at birth. But they don’t stop there. After a year of gestation, these calves are born hungry, and consume up to 50 gallons of their mother’s milk every day. 

This nutrient-rich diet helps calves put on weight fast, and baby blue whales pack on 8-10 pounds every hour. Doing the math, that’s roughly 200+ pounds a day. By the time they’re fully grown, blue whales will weigh around 400,000 pounds. Their appetite doesn’t slow down with age, however, and adult blue whales will consume around 4 tons of krill every day. They need all that food to fuel them for their long migration south from arctic waters every year.