Food and Foraging

Foraging and Hunting

Whales are divided into two suborders, baleen whales and toothed whales. These suborders utilize different food sources and different hunting and feeding techniques.Baleen whales use baleen plates to filter small organisms from the water, and the toothed whale capture individual prey with their teeth. Together they feed on prey species at practically every level in the marine ecosystem.

Feeding Techniques of Baleen Whales

Baleen whales feed on the most abundant food in the ocean, zooplankton, krill and small fish. The baleens form an efficient filtration system that separates prey from volumes of water taken. To feed, the whales open their mouth to grasp water and food, and close it partially to force the water through the baleen plates. The trapped food will be scraped off with their tongue and swallowed.

Feeding Techniques of Toothed Whales

The prey taken by toothed whales is often related to their body size and amount of teeth. The main diet consists of various fish, such as herring and sandeel, but also squid. The teeth are mostly conically shaped and are used to grasp or tear, but not to chew.

Food, Foraging and Migration

Toothed whales feed throughout the year and stay in regions where prey is available at all times. For most of the baleen whales, feeding involves seasonal migration and is limited to 3 - 5 months out of the year. During that time, the weight gain averages around 40 % of their body weight, which is stored in the blubber and gradually lost during the rest of the year. Little or no feeding takes place during migration and the 6 - 9 months away from the feeding grounds.