You may be the most caring person in the world. The sweetest person in town. The one with the biggest heart around. But no matter how hard you may try, your heart will never be as big as a Blue Whale's heart. But if you wish, you can go look at a one of these said hearts. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto just recently added a blue whale heart to its collection and it's phenomenal.
Where did researchers find it?
Is it really from an actual whale? Yes, indeed. The unusual museum addition comes from a whale that washed up onto the icy shores of Trout River, Newfoundland in May 2014.The whale was one of nine whales that were trapped in the ice in the surrounding seas and sadly died.
In a rare turn of events, two of the nine whales washed up onshore, rather than sinking like the rest of the whales. Although many museums have displayed whale skeletons before, this is the first time that an entire, fully-preserved whale heart has been exhibited. The heart of one of the largest animals in the world will be showcased alongside the skeleton of the whale from which the heart comes. The skeleton has already been in The Royal Ontario Museum for the past two months, according to CBC News.
The whale was shipped from Canada to Germany, shortly after being discovered. In Germany it was preserved, according to the ROM. This is one of the rare times when researchers have actually been able to save an entire heart from a blue whale.
This is because whales usually sink when they are dead. The other creatures in the ocean then make short work of the remains which means that by the time the carcass is discovered, there isn't much left.
How big is the heart really?
If you're wondering how big a this creature's heart really is, ROM experts strongly advise that you go see for yourself in Toronto.
But in the meantime, here are some of the figures. A blue whale heart is usually about five feet long, four feet wide and five feet tall. It weighs around 181 kilograms or 440 pounds. This massive organ can pump out an astonishing 220 litres of blood per beat. One well-known fact about blue whales' hearts is that a small child would actually be able to swim through the arteries in the whale's heart!
According to the Daily Mail, the whale heart alone is the size of a smart car. Of course, we are talking about the world's largest creature so it is no surprise that its heart is so big. However, it will still be a really incredible experience to be able to gaze upon one in person though!
