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Whales (family Balaenidae) They represent some of the largest creatures and have existed on the planet for thousands of years. This family is classified within the mysticete cetaceans, which are mammals adapted to aquatic life and possess beards instead of teeth. Although, colloquially speaking, the word "whale" usually refers to all kinds of cetaceans, that is, both bearded cetaceans (mysticetes) themselves, and toothed cetaceans (odontocetes).
In this EcologiaVerde article, we tell you where does the whale live and what does it eat, considering the term "whale" in its broadest sense. In general, whales are very cosmopolitan species, that is, they live in practically all the world's oceans, and feed mainly on krill and small crustaceans, such as copepods and amphipods, although there are some differences between the different species of whales. Read on to discover all the details about these marine animals.
Where baleen whales live and what they eat
Are cetaceans with beards instead of teeth They use for filtration and feeding. They can be divided into four families: right whales, dwarf right whales, fin whales and gray whales.
Right whales
They are fed by a technique known as foaming, which consists of a continuous feeding where the water with the food enters between the beards through a very slow and continuous surface swim. You can find the Southern Right Whale in different oceans mainly from southern hemisphere (South Atlantic, South Pacific, etc.) and part of the South Pole, although they migrate and reproduce in warmer waters during winter.
It is also possible to find some specimens in the North Pacific, where the North Pacific right whale can also be found. Instead, the glacial right whale inhabit the waters of North Atlantic.
Fin whales
They feed using the swallowing technique, since they have folds under the jaw that allow them to dilate their mouths to swallow large amounts of water. Then the water is filtered and the food passes between the beards. In waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific or Antarctic we can find the fin whale and the fin whale or blue whale.
In more temperate and tropical waters closer to the coast, the Bryde's whale, which also feeds on fish and plankton. Another fin whale that feeds on pelagic fish and crustaceans is the fin whale, which is found living in warm and subtropical oceans of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The minke whale or dwarf whale It is distributed in oceans of the northern hemisphere, while the southern one is found in oceans of the southern hemisphere. Another recently discovered species is the Omura's whale, which is distributed among the seas of Japan.
The Sei's fin whale It is another species that is found in oceans around the world, living in very deep waters. Like the humpback whale, a highly migratory species that spends summers in high latitudes, but breeds in tropical waters.
Gray whales
They are medium-sized whales, which live mainly in Pacific waters (although there are not many specimens), where they feed on small crustaceans, such as krill, that inhabit the mud, which they scratch with their snout to catch it along with their food. They then filter the mud and absorb the food through their beards.
Where do toothed whales live and what do they eat?
Are toothy cetaceans and exclusively carnivores. Thanks to their teeth they feed on fish, cephalopods, crustaceans or small mammals. Odontocetes They are very cosmopolitan species, which have populations in almost all the world's oceans, such as the following:
- The Dolphins
- Beluga whales
- Orcas
- Sperm whales (very deep water)
- Beaked whales
Another species of odontocetes are river dolphins, which are distributed by rivers in different parts of the world. There are also other species of odontocetes less popularly known.
What customs do whales have
Whales are animals that carry out migrations in large groups called clans, reaching thousands of kilometers to other latitudes. The reason for these migrations can be food or even reproductive.
It is known, for example, that krill (its main food), reproduces during the summer in cold waters of the poles, so many species migrate to the poles to feed, while in winter, when the waters are cold, they return to their original places. Although, there are different migratory patterns according to species.
Another characteristic is that the whales organize themselves within a migratory group, with the breeding mothers leading the group in a more forward position, while the calves or calves, in more protected positions, they go to the tail of the group.
Furthermore, whales orient themselves and communicate with each other through a phenomenon known as echolocation, which consists of the emission of sounds of different frequencies (different in the different species) and the measurement of the reception time. This characteristic, sometimes, makes them disoriented, especially as a consequence of the invasion of the ocean by humans (boats, submarines, pollution, etc.), which often causes beach stranding.
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