Feeding
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2019 / 07 / 11
What is ambergris?
Sperm whales are known and have been hunted for their production of ambergris, a substance of great value that has historically been used notably in the perfume industry. It is estimated that ambergri...
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2019 / 03 / 06
Blue Whale Migratory Traditions
Every day, blue whales must devour up to 4 tonnes of krill before they are full. With such an enormous appetite, it’s no wonder that food is a determining factor in their migration. But how do they ...
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2019 / 01 / 16
An Ancient Whale with Neither Teeth Nor Baleen
Museum collections are full of fossils that haven’t been carefully examined in years. However, by taking a closer look at a 33-million-year-old whale fossil from the Smithsonian’s National Museum ...
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2018 / 10 / 16
Whales with Different Methods of Filtering
Baleen refers to the stiff plates of keratin that hang off the upper jaw of some whales, more precisely mysticetes… but is all baleen alike? Of course not! The size and shape of baleen and how i...
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2018 / 10 / 15
What Do Whales Do at Night?
A curtain closes, night takes over the sky and during its quiet advance the frantic pace of the cities tapers off. But what happens in the St. Lawrence when darkness arrives? What do whales do during ...
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2017 / 04 / 28
North Atlantic Right Whales Making Headlines: What’s Going On?
An unprecedented number of whales in Cape Cod Bay in recent weeks and an abnormally low number of newborns observed this winter off the coasts of Georgia and Florida are causing surprise and raising m...
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2017 / 01 / 11
How did baleen appear?
A recently discovered whale fossil has proven to be an important piece of the puzzle with regard to whale evolution. ...
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2016 / 06 / 14
Study Reveals Exceptional Efficiency of a Small Hunter
The harbour porpoise feeds day and night, aiming to capture up to 550 small fish per hour, with a success rate of over 90%...
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2016 / 04 / 25
When Sharing a Meal Keeps a Family Together
Although a killer whale can easily swallow a whole salmon, it prefers to tear it into pieces to share with family members, according to a recent study...
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2015 / 12 / 11
Sperm Whales Robbing Fishermen of Their Catch
Sablefish fishermen in the Gulf of Alaska face a major competitor to their operations: male sperm whales. The latter come and steal their catch directly from the fishing gear. Fishermen and scientists...