What do Whales Eat

One of the predators of the oceans is the whale. To put it briefly, whales are carnivorous mammals of the oceans and feed on other marine mammals and seabirds. They also relish on a wide variety of fishes such as salmon, cod, flatfish, herring, hake and smelt. Occasionally, the whales feast on walruses, sea otters, penguins, seals and sea lions. At times they also nourish on octopus, squid and many other small sea creatures.

The diet of the whales differs from region to region. For instance, a killer whale residing in the Antarctic region eats approximately 65% fishes, 25% marine animals including marine mammals and around 10% squids. However, the ones seen near Alaska in the Bering Sea eat 65% fishes, 20% squids and 15% marine mammals.

Marine biologists and scientists estimate baleen whales eat approximately 4% of their body weight during their feeding season that is mostly in summer. Then they travel for next six to eight months for breeding.

It has been estimated that a blue whale would require almost 4000 kg of crustaceans such as krill every day during the feeding period. The scientists opine, a blue whale requires 1000 kg of food to fill its stomach at a time.

During the feeding season, a gray whale eats around 1,100 kg of food in a day.

In brief, an adult whale would eat 4% of its body weight while a fully weaned whale calf would consume approximately 10% of their body weight.