A team of marine biologists just discovered that after recording a blue whale's heartbeat, that the world's largest creatures can survive on just two heartbeats per minute.
How crazy is that?!
The team suction-cupped a pulse monitor to the back of a blue whale off the California coast, in order to achieve this new data.
And when the blue whale grabbed a snack, its heart skipped a beat -- or 30.
According to a new study, in the journal, 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,' "the simple act of catching a bite may push a blue whale's heart to its physical limits — and that could explain why no creatures larger than blue whales have ever been spotted on Earth."
Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. A blue whale adult can measure more than 100 feet long, which is equivalent to two school buses parked bumper-to-bumper. And as one would expect, It takes a big heart to power a creature that size. In 2015, one beached blue whale's heart weighed in at 400 pounds, equivalent to the size of a golf cart.
As written on LiveScience, "According to the study authors; blue whales may have — now and forever — the hardest-working hearts on Earth".
Story via LiveScience