Whales

Diet

Due to the sheer size of this impressive species, the whale has often etched fear in the hearts of those who have the pleasure of an encounter with them. Tales of man-eating whales who have held a hapless sailor in their gut for days have only reinforced this image of a heartless hunter. However, in direct contrast with the sheer scale of these beasts, whales tend to opt for the smaller organisms that share its watery home for their whale diet.

Toothed whales have, as their name implies, a set of teeth that are coated by cementum over the dentine. These are designed to grasp and crush the food that forms their diet. Their prey consists of small fish, squid, zooplankton and phytoplankton.

Baleen whales have baleen plates that act as sieves as they draw water into their mouths. These plates allow only smaller organisms through, which include small fish (such as herring and mackerel), tiny crustaceans (e.g. copepods), zooplankton and phytoplankton.

Baleen whales are made up of gulpers and skimmers. Gulpers travel through the waters, and sometimes through large groups of fish and crustaceans, indiscriminately taking prey into their mouths. These get pushed through the filters and into the gullet by the tongue. Humpback Whales and Blue Whales are gulpers. Skimmers swim through the waters with their ample mouths permanently open, letting any animals and organisms float in. These are filtered by the baleen plates. Skimmers include Right Whales and Sei Whales.

Common constituents of a whale's diet:
The squid is an invertebrate with eight tentacles, not to be confused with its relative, the octopus. Its soft body moves through the water using a jet propulsion method. When in danger, the squid is able to squirt black ink in the face of its predator to confuse it. An adult squid can measure anywhere between 30cm to 18m in length!

Plankton comprises tiny organisms, invisible to the naked eye, that drift with the movements of the ocean. They do not move themselves or govern their travel in any way. Plankton is made up of zooplankton and phytoplankton. Zooplankton are microscopic animals, comprising of larval sea creatures (crustaceans, mollusks, etc...), single-celled animals, or minute crustaceans. Phytoplankton are the 'plants' of the plankton world. These convert chlorophyll into energy and vital nutrients. Zooplankton feed on the phytoplankton, making these plants the primary food source for a host of other animals, as well as in the whale diet.

Whales require a large amount of quality nutrition in order to maintain the correct amount of blubber beneath their skin to endure icy waters and long migrations. One of the amazing facts about whales is that such large animals gain the necessary nutrition from the smallest organisms in the ocean.

Discover more whale facts on our other pages.