Whales possess unique feeding strategies. Unlike humans and many other mammals, whales generally do not chew their food. Their feeding mechanisms are diverse and highly specialized, reflecting millions of years of evolution in aquatic environments. These adaptations allow them to efficiently consume vast quantities of prey, ranging from microscopic organisms to large fish and marine mammals.
Baleen Whales: Filter Feeders
Baleen whales, including blue whales and humpbacks, are filter feeders. Instead of teeth, they have hundreds of baleen plates hanging from their upper jaws. These plates are made of keratin, similar to human fingernails, and form a comb-like structure.
When feeding, baleen whales take in huge gulps of water containing prey like krill or small fish. They then use their large tongues to push the water back out through the baleen plates. The fringed bristles trap the food, which is swallowed whole. Different species employ various filtering techniques, including lunge feeding (rapidly engulfing water and prey) and skim feeding (continuously swimming with mouths open to filter food).
Toothed Whales: Grasp and Gulp
Toothed whales, including dolphins, porpoises, and sperm whales, possess teeth primarily adapted for grasping, holding, or tearing prey, not for chewing. Their teeth are cone-shaped, designed to secure slippery prey like fish and squid.
Once caught, toothed whales generally swallow prey whole. Dolphins use their teeth to seize fish, while orcas tear larger prey into manageable pieces before swallowing. Some, like belugas, can use their jaws to crack open shells of crustaceans but still swallow the contents whole.
Why Whales Don’t Chew
The absence of chewing in whales is a result of anatomical and evolutionary adaptations. Their throats are large and highly expandable, allowing them to swallow prey whole. This adaptation is particularly evident in baleen whales, whose throat grooves can expand significantly to accommodate massive volumes of water and food.
Whales also possess specialized digestive systems equipped to break down unchewed food. They have multiple stomach compartments that function to store, grind, and process food. The types of prey whales consume, small and numerous like krill, or large items that need to be swallowed quickly, make chewing impractical. The rapid feeding strategies employed by both baleen and toothed whales prioritize efficiency in capturing and ingesting food.