How much krill can a baleen whale eat?
Baleen whales, such as Minke Whales and Humpback Whales eat by filtering food from the water through their baleen plates. Baleen is a strong, light, substance made of keratin, the same protein as human fingernails. The baleen grows in two rows of comb-like plates down the roof of a whale’s mouth. The baleen plates strain plankton, small fish and other organisms from the water. The Blue Whale is the largest animal ever known, and is the size of three or four school buses. It eats about 4 tons of plankton and krill (planktonic crustaceans and larvae) in one day. Blue Whales feed offshore in the Port aux Basque region of Newfoundland. Minke Whales are often resident around fjords along the coasts.
