Photo Renee Bonner
Seeing
Clues: How do Gray Whales Eat?
Gray whales have large appetites! But
they don't eat with forks and knives
like we do. Instead they have rows of baleen that
look like broom bristles. The baleen hangs from their upper jaws.
It helps the whale strain small animals called amphipods out
of the mud on the bottom of the ocean.
Gray whales are unique feeders because they dive to the bottom, suck in a mouthful of mud and water, and then use their giant tongue to push the muddy water out of their mouth, leaving the amphipods and other yummy animals behind on the baleen. Then they swallow the food.
It is estimated that a gray whale can eat up to 2,400 pounds of food in one day!
Thank you, Staci Shaut: Birch Aquarium, Scripps Institution of Oceanography