Whales are mammals belonging to the group of cetaceans, along with dolphins, porpoises, killer whales, sperm whales and beaked whales. However, unlike the rest, the whales are baleen whales. This means that they don't have teeth, a characteristic that greatly affects their diet.
As we will see, the whale's diet is based on very small animals, so it consumes huge amounts of them. Do you want to know who these enigmatic animals are? Keep reading!, because in this article on our site, we tell you what whales eat, the giants of the oceans.
Types of whales
In Biology, the term whale is used exclusively for the Balenidae family. However, many other cetaceans are colloquially known as whales:
- Balenids: they are mysticetes (baleen whales) and feed by filtration. This group includes right whales and bowhead whales.
- Balenopterids or rorquals: they are also baleen whales. These include the world's largest animal, the blue whale, and the well-known humpback whale.
- Scrictids or gray whales: they are odontocetes (toothed whales), like dolphins and other cetaceans.
In this article we are going to talk exclusively about “baleen whales”, including fin whales. If you want to have a clearer understanding of what whales are, we recommend reading this article on Types of whales.
Whale Feeding
Whale feeding is based on a filtration process To do this, they have structures known as baleen that hang from the upper jaw (like our teeth). It is a series of fibers that we can compare to the bristles of a brush.
When they find food, these animals open their huge jaws and both food and water enter their mouths. They then push their tongue against the palate, from the back to the mouth, while keeping their mouth almost closed. Thus, thanks to the presence of the beards, they get the water to flow outwards, leaving the food retained in the oral cavity. Finally, they swallow food and also other residual substances that may exist in the ocean, such as plastics.
What do whales eat?
Now that we know more about how these animals feed, you may be wondering what whales eat. Although their diet depends on the places they frequent, we can talk about a food that is very common to all of them: plankton But what exactly is this? Let's see it!
What is plankton?
Plankton is a group of very small organisms that live suspended in the water. Among them are:
- Bacteria.
- Protists.
- Vegetables (phytoplankton).
- Animals (zooplankton).
Whale feeding is based on the last component, that is, they are carnivorous animals.
The zooplankton
Zooplankton include very small animals that feed on other plankton. These are adult crustaceans, such as krill or copepods, and larvae of animals that, when they complete their development, live on the seabed.
Krill - basic food for whales
Krill are tiny, usually transparent, crustaceans that inhabit the world's oceans. These animals form groups of thousands and thousands of individuals that can extend over kilometers. For this reason, they are the basis of food for whales and many other marine predators.
Planktonic Copepods
Other crustaceans that play an essential role in the aquatic food chain are the planktonic copepods. These crustaceans can measure less than a millimeter and are also an essential food for whales and many other ocean animals.
Other small animals
Furthermore, in zooplankton we can find the juvenile stages of some fish and larvae of animals such as sponges, corals, echinoderms, molluscs… All these animals become “independent” of the plankton when they reach adulthood.
Other foods of some whales
Some whales, such as fin whales, eat many schooling fish. This allows the giants of the sea to eat hundreds of fish in one bite.
What fish do whales eat?
Some of the fish that are part of the whale's diet are:
- Chaplain (Mallotus villosus).
- Common cod (Gadus morhua).
- Black flounder (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides).
- Herrings (Clupea spp.).
Finally, squid are also part of the food of some whales. For example, the world's largest animal, the blue whale, often descends to the ocean floor in search of shoals of squid.
Whale Watching
Whales make great migrations in search of food. In summer they migrate to cold waters, where food is abundant. When the cold arrives, the amount of food decreases. Therefore, they return to warm waters, where they mate and reproduce.
This knowledge helps us to know the best times and places for whale watching. Let's see some examples:
- Peninsula Valdés (Argentina): This is the best place to see the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis).
- Whale Bay (Costa Rica): Humpback whales like to come to these waters to mate. You can also see dolphins, rays, sharks…
- Baja California (Mexico): it is the best place for gray whale watching, although it is also common to see the blue whale.
- Canary Islands. You can see all kinds of whales and also beaked whales, sperm whales and killer whales.
- Glacier Bay (Canada): It is a well-known spot for humpback or humpback whale watching.
- Monterey Bay, California (United States): In summer and autumn, blue whales can be seen in this bay. You can also spot humpback, right, minke whales…
There are many more places where you can observe the majesty of these cetaceans. However, we encourage you to do so based on knowledge, generating the least possible impact on their behavior and their habitats.
