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The blue whale is the largest mammal in the world growing to 30 metres (100 feet) long, weighing 150 tonnes (a female might weigh up to 200 tonnes) and swimming at 20 knots. In summer they eat up to four tonnes of krill in one day. They yield 11-15 tonnes of oil.
A sperm whale (as depicted in Herman Melville's book Moby Dick) yields six tonnes of oil and one tonne of spermaceti oil (from its head).
| Glasgow Digital Library | Voyage of the Scotia | BRUCE | PEOPLE | SHIP | ANTARCTIC | INDEX |
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