The blue whale is the largest animal known to have existed on the planet Earth and can reach lengths of almost 100 ft and weigh over 400,000 lbs. Despite their enormous size, blue whales consume a diet primarily consisting of krill, a ocean small crustacean near the bottom of the food chain. A whale feeds by lunging towards a group of krill, engulfing the animals and a large amount of water in its mouth. A specialized filter system known as a baleen plate allows the water to be squeezed back out of the mouth, leaving only the krill behind. An adult blue whale can consume up to 40 million krill in a single day.
New research from Oregon State University has found that blue whales will not put energy into feeding on low-reward prey patches. Aerial drones were used to track behavior during surface feeding and discovered that the whales would avoid smaller krill groups in favor of larger ones. Here a blue whale can be seen consuming an enormous patch of krill in a single lunge.
Source: https://goo.gl/jjG8OF
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