How do toothed whales feed

With each mouthful, a fin whale, a type of rorqual whale, can trap about 20 pounds 9 kilograms of krill. That's important, because each lunge, with its fast start and abrupt stop, requires an enormous amount of energy.

To offset the energy loss, these whales may hunt for about four hours a day in order to eat 1 ton of krill. The blue whale needs about 2, pounds 1, kilograms of krill to fill its stomach. Gray whales practice the last method of feeding, which is sucking. The gray whale swims on its side on the bottom of the ocean floor and consumes mud and dirt like a vacuum cleaner , eating for up to 20 hours a day and even leaving craters behind after a meal.

From the mud and water, the gray whale filters tiny crustaceans through its baleen. Baleen whales spend hours each day filter feeding , but they also spend a lot of time migrating.

Before they migrate, though, they have to store up enough food to make the trip. The krill, schooling fish and plankton that make up a baleen whale's diet are abundant in colder waters in the summer, but they disappear in the winter.

Baleen whales eat a lot in the summer to prepare for the trip and compensate for a lack of prey in the winter [source: Heyning ]. They migrate to warmer waters for the winter, where it takes less energy, and thus less food, to live. Baleen whales make some of the longest migratory trips of any mammal, with the humpback whale edging out the gray whale for the record.

The gray whale travels 5, miles 8, kilometers from the Bering Sea to Baja California, Mexico, in about five months [source: Ellis ].

The humpback whale has been tracked from the Antarctic Peninsula to Columbia, a voyage of 5, miles 8, kilometers [source: Carwardine et al. Without the pressures of feeding, baleen whales turn their attention to another matter: calving. Breeding and birthing takes place in the warmer waters, and baleen whale calves remain in the area with their mothers for a while, gaining strength and size for the colder waters.

Breeding appears to be very competitive, with several males fighting for the right to mate with a female. Sometimes, the female will mate with the most aggressive male, or she may just mate with all of them. Males have been observed taking turns and helping each other mate with the female. Females, though, usually don't mate against their will and likely mate many times to ensure success. The gestation period for baleen whales ranges from 10 months to 14 months.

If you thought pregnant women ate a lot, just wait until you hear about baleen whales. In the last half of the gestation period, females increase their food intake by 50 percent to 60 percent, which they'll store to be able to feed their calves [source: SeaWorld ]. For this reason, a newly pregnant female will leave for colder waters soon after mating to start bulking up, and she'll return to the warm waters to give birth.

Observation of a whale birth is rare, but females typically give birth to one calf. At birth, the calf can swim, but not far, and is about one-quarter of the mother's length and 3 percent to 4 percent of the mother's weight [source: SeaWorld ]. Males may help protect calves that could possibly be theirs, but a very close bond exists between the female and her calf.

The females feed the calves frequently with milk that is about 40 percent fat for up to a year [source: Carwardine et al. This nursing period helps the calf get big fast, so that it can migrate and feed in colder waters as well. Blue whale calves gain about pounds 90 kilograms each day that they nurse.

While the whale calves get larger, the adult males are possibly on one of the best weight-loss programs ever. Since they don't feed during migration or breeding, they lose a lot of weight. The gray whale can lose up to about 25 percent of its body weight in the winter [source: Heyning ]. Does the baleen whale calf face any predators once it makes its way into the world?

Although their large size deters many predators, baleen whales still face the threat of killer whales. Killer whales may team up to take on a large baleen whale.

Large sharks also may attack baleens. As opposed to toothed whales, which form social groups and protect each other from predators, the baleen whale is less social. The only real bond is between a mother and her calf, and the mother will fiercely protect the calf.

Other baleen whales, however, don't provide any defensive help to fellow baleens in trouble. These tiny animals are found in all of Earth's oceans, swimming in massive swarms, sometimes of more than 30, individuals. The blue whale has one of the largest appetites of any animal, eating up to four tonnes of krill every day. Blue whales, which have baleen plates, feed by taking huge mouthfuls of water and food. They then push the water back out using their baleen plates as a strainer, keeping the food in their mouths.

Right, minke, fin and sei whales also have baleen plates. All of them feed on krill, but sometimes include other sea creatures in their diets, such as copepod crustaceans and small fish. Humpback and Bryde's whales also actively hunt for small schooling fish such as herring and anchovies. Odontocete whales have traditional teeth.

This means their feeding techniques and preferred foods are different from the Mysticeti. There are over 80 species of odontocete, from the huge sperm whale to tiny, dog-sized porpoises. Dolphins, pilot whales and beaked whales are also odontocetes. These whales catch their food, such as squid and fish, by either sucking them into their mouths or by grabbing and biting.

If their prey is too big to be swallowed whole, they will grip it in their teeth and shake it apart into smaller pieces. For scientists, the only way to work out what a toothed whale eats is to either observe it hunting and eating, or look at the stomach contents of dead whales.

The deep ocean is so dark that it is difficult for whales to locate prey by sight, so toothed whales use echolocation to find their prey. The whale emits a call, which bounces off the prey. The echoes help the whale navigate towards its food. Killer whales hunt in family pods.

Their diets depend on the hunting techniques passed down through generations. Killer whales, the largest dolphin species, also have teeth, but their diet is different to other odontocetes. It has been found that different groups of the same species will feed differently depending on their location, the season and what is available to them. For example, with the dwindling numbers of Chinook salmon our beloved Resident Orca may have to find a new favourite food as time moves on.

They will also have different hunting strategies too depending on their environment numbers and prey type. Hunting strategies are passed on by learning and repeating. This way feeding techniques are always improving and becoming more and more efficient- new strategies are being discovered all the time by scientist. Read More Articles , News. News Articles Sightings Contact Us.

A Humpback whale showing its large mouth! What do whales eat? This determines how and what they will munch on… Baleen Whales Baleen whales have baleen instead of teeth and include, right whales, gray whales, rorquals, and others.

In an attempt to escape from the noise, the panicked fish swim upwards. Finally the whales swim up very quickly from the bottom, open mouthed and eat the trapped fish! Toothed Whales Toothed whales have, well you guessed it, teeth! The echo returns and is received along the lower jaw of the animal. The signals regarding the location, size and kinds of foods available in their surroundings are transmitted to the inner ear to build up a 3D picture.

Peek-a-boo Orca coming up for a breath in the misty Salish Sea. Photo taken by Captain Yves with a zoom lens. In the water around Vancouver Island there are two distinct eco types… Resident Orca This ecotype loves to feed on Chinook Salmon as they are biggest and most energetically efficient prey but other species of salmon have also been found in their diet.

Unlike toothed whales, baleen whales do not have teeth. Baleen whales are known to engage in filter feeding, a unique method of hunting. With filter feeding, a baleen whale will swim with its mouth open towards its prey.

Once the whale food is caught, they will close their mouths and push the excess water out with the tongue. Their bristles ensure that the whale food does not escape. The prey is then swallowed whole. In addition to filter feeding, some baleen whales utilize a method known as bubble netting. With bubble netting, several whales will surround a group of whale food, blowing bubbles around the fish to get them in a ball towards the surface. After the fish have been herded, the whales will take turns feeding on the helpless prey.

One species of whale known to utilize bubble netting for feeding is the humpback whale. Also known as lunge netting, the humpbacks will usually target whale food like herring, blowing bubbles to herd them into a group.

Other whales participating will scare the fish by making loud noises, causing them to head towards the surface. Once at the surface, the humpback whales will lunge towards the fish with open mouths, consuming as many fish as they can.

In most cases, baleen whales will engage in solitary behaviors when it comes to hunting for prey. However, certain species or pods of baleen whales will participate in group efforts to locate and capture food.

Some whales, such as the grey whale, rely on prey found at the bottom of the ocean. These bottom feeders will swim to the bottom of the ocean, and then roll on their sides.

By doing this, they are able to disrupt sea sediments and prey. They will then capture the small fish, crabs, plankton, or other sea creatures that come up. While toothed whales tend to consume a varied diet of small and larger prey, baleen whales will hunt small prey they can swallow whole and in large quantities.