How do cetaceans feed?

Baleen whales and toothed whales feed very differently. While tooth whales are grabbers and suckers, baleen whales are either skimmers, suckers or gulpers!

Toothed whales (including dolphins and porpoises) all have teeth but the number, size and position, and even purpose of their teeth, varies from species to species. Some, like Orcas, use their teeth for grabbing while the long tusk of a male narwhal acts as a sensory organ and may help them “taste” the surrounding waters. One thing they have in common is that they do not use their teeth to chew their food! Toothed whales do not have molars for chewing their food, they swallow it whole or in large chunks. Some toothed whales use their tongues as pistons to suck in the food, using their teeth more socially than for feeding. One thing all toothed whales have in common is their sophisticated sonar systems called echolocation. This helps them find and target their prey which typically consists of fish, squid and octopus. However, some Orcas also are known to eat sharks and even other marine mammals.

Instead of teeth, baleen whales have hundreds of overlapping baleen plates grow downwards from the gums of the whale’s upper jaw. The number, size, and color of the baleen plates are unique for each whale species. The hairy fringe on the inside of the baleen plates earned these whales their scientific name “mysticete”, or moustached whales. Baleen is made out of keratin, the same protein that makes up our fingernails and hair. Being strong and flexible, baleen makes the perfect filter, or colander, enabling whales to strain out sea water and keep the prey.

Baleen whales are typically categorized as skimmers, gulpers, or suckers. Skimmers, like North Atlantic right whales, swim through patches of plankton with their mouths open as the water washes through the baleen, the tiny plankton are caught by the baleen and remain trapped in the their mouths. Gulpers are rorqual whales. Rorqual whales like blue and humpback whales have a series of pleats running from their lower jaw to the belly button which expand when they are filled with water. They close down with their upper jaw and force the water through the baleen, capturing fish or krill. Gray whales are suckers, they literally suck amphipods from the bottom of the ocean taking in mouthfuls of mud and food before forcing the water, sand and mud through their baleen as they capture their prey.