Humpback whales open their mouths primarily for feeding purposes. They are baleen whales, which means they use baleen plates in their mouths to filter food from the water. The specific feeding behavior most commonly associated with humpback whales is called "lunge feeding." Here's how it works:

1. **Locating Prey:** Humpback whales feed on small fish and krill. They often locate schools of these prey in the water.

2. **Lunge Feeding:** The whale will accelerate towards the prey with its mouth wide open. As it moves through the water, it engulfs a large volume of water and prey.

3. **Filtering Food:** After closing its mouth, the whale uses its baleen plates to filter out the water, trapping the fish and krill inside. The whale then swallows the captured prey.

Humpback whales also use a specialized technique called "bubble net feeding." In this cooperative behavior, a group of whales will blow bubbles while swimming in a spiral around their prey. The rising bubbles create a "net" that traps the prey in a concentrated area. Then, the whales lunge upward through the bubble net with their mouths open to capture the dense concentration of prey.

Opening their mouths wide is a crucial part of these feeding strategies, allowing humpback whales to consume large quantities of food efficiently.

свернуть