Yes, whales are carnivorous animals.
All species of whale, dolphin, and porpoise are considered carnivores.
Among the 80 or so estimated cetaceans (cetaceans include all species of whale, dolphin, and porpoise), all species are broken down into two groups or suborders, known as the toothed whale and baleen whale suborders.
Toothed whales, as the name suggests, are born with teeth and include all dolphin and porpoise species.
These marine mammals are considered the hunters of the species.
The number of teeth a toothed whale possesses (cetaceans can have anywhere from 2 – 240 teeth or more), and the purpose of their teeth can vary from one species to the next.
For example, some toothed whales use their teeth to bite and chew their prey, while others swallow their food whole and only use their teeth for self-defense or to show dominance, especially during mating season.
Because toothed whales possess teeth, they are more likely to hunt and attack their prey when compared to baleen whales, which lack teeth.
Depending on the species, toothed whales can eat everything from small fish and shrimp to giant squid and octopus.
The killer whale (part of the dolphin family) has been known to attack and eat everything from small fish, squid, and octopus to large marine animals such as sea lions, seals, sharks, penguins, and even large whales!
In addition to being equipped with teeth, toothed whales also possess echolocation, which allows them to search for food, navigate the ocean and keep track of potential predators, even in complete darkness.
Because echolocation uses sound, these marine mammals can gather more information about their surroundings than if they only used their eyes.
While toothed whales are born with teeth, baleen whales are born with baleen plates instead, so they aren’t able to attack their prey the way their toothed whale relatives do.
Instead, they use a technique known as filter feeding, which involves swimming towards their prey with their mouth open and engulfing large amounts of water combined with small prey such as krill, shrimp, small fish, and crustaceans, all easily digestible.
They then push the water out of their mouth with their tongue while using their baleen bristles to keep the fish, shrimp, krill, and other small prey from escaping.
The baleen bristles look like the bristles found on a comb and act like a filter by preventing prey from escaping while allowing water to move freely in and out of the bristles.
In other words, the bristles can be considered a fence that keeps small animals or prisoners behind bars but allows air and debris to pass through.
To give you a better idea of the types of foods toothed whales and baleen whales are known to consume, we have created a small list below.
Standard Foods Eaten by Whales:
- Krill and other crustaceans (eaten by toothed whales and baleen whales)
- Shrimp (eaten by toothed whales and baleen whales)
- Fish (eaten by toothed whales and baleen whales)
- Squid (eaten by toothed whales and baleen whales)
- octopus (eaten by toothed whales and baleen whales)
- Seals (eaten by killer whales)
- Sea Lions (eaten by killer whales)
- Penguins (eaten by killer whales)
- Sharks (eaten by killer whales – rare)
- Dolphins (eaten by killer whales)
- Whales (eaten by killer whales – rare)