Blue Whale Lunge Feeding Near the Surface (IMAGE)

University of California - Santa Cruz

Blue Whale Lunge Feeding Near the Surface

Caption

An aerial view of a blue whale lunge feeding near the surface with fully expanded throat pleats. Blue whales demonstrate both individual and population level lateralized behavior in their feeding. While the majority of animals display a right-side preference for rolling behavior during feeding, for more acrobatic feeding behaviors targeting smaller prey patches from below, blue whales roll to the left side. Researchers posit that the specialization of lateralized feeding strategies may enhance foraging efficiency in environments with heterogeneous prey distributions. (Chilean research permit MERI-488-FEB-2015)

Credit

Photograph courtesy of John Durban (NOAA) and Michael Moore (WHOI)

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