How do sperm whales find food?
Sperm whales are masters of echolocation or sonar, and likely find their deep-sea squid prey not with their tiny eyes, but with reflected sound waves. Once squid are located deep in the dark, how does a lumbering whale shaped like a boxcar chase down and capture jet-propelled squid? One theory is that they focus and concentrate powerful sound waves that are emitted from the midpoint of the whale’s upper lip—sound so powerful that it can “sonicate” and paralyze a squid from a distance of at least a few feet. Once paralyzed, the squid fall easy prey to the whale.
