Baleen whales have a seemingly predatory appearance, but they consume plankton.

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It means that baleen whales don’t feast on large fish, though they have got massive jaws.

But those jaws don’t possess teeth to digest the animal matter.

And that’s also the reason why baleen whales tend to be filter feeders.

Here, we’ll look at “what do baleen whales eat?”

Animals

Typically, baleen whales are found across oceans and swim slowly to swallow the prey.

Surprisingly, their prey tends to be super tiny in terms of food, but it is enough to provide them energy.

That is because baleen whales scoop up a large quantity of small animal matter, like zooplankton.

That said, baleen whales eat fish, krill, plankton, zooplankton, Pollock, and other diverse copepods.

Now many of you might be wondering “why do baleen whales eat krill”

It is because their mouthparts are designed in such a way to forage for small fish like krill.

Like we said earlier, baleen whales don’t have teeth.

Baleen whales do, however, open their jaws as wide as they can maneuver and scoop up a large number of krills.

Another reason could be because they feed on benthic organisms as they have adapted to this type of foraging.

Fruit, Vegetables, and Plants

Similar to foraging for microscopic copepods, baleen whales also forage for microscopic algae.

Hence, baleen whales do eat phytoplankton by drawing in the water and ingesting it whole.

How much do baleen whales eat?

Relative to their massive size, baleen whales eat as much as 1,500-10,000 pounds of food in a day.

How do baleen whales eat

Baleen whales eat by opening their mouth wide, drawing in water and plankton.

Doing so, baleen whales utilize two foraging techniques called skimming and lunge-feeding.

Both foraging methods involve drawing in water and plankton simultaneously.

How do baleen whales eat fish?

Baleen whales eat fish by expanding their jaws, drawing in water and fish, and then ingesting it.

What baleen whales don’t eat?

Baleen whales don’t eat penguins, seals, polar bears, or birds.

They might end up catching the birds, but that only happens accidentally.

Besides these, baleen whales don’t eat sharks or killer whales.