Blue Whales Chase the Wind to Hunt Tiny Prey

Blue whales need to find dense patches of krill to survive. A new study suggests that they accomplish this by tracking wind-driven events that stir up their prey.

By Connor Lynch
Nov 30, 2022 2:00 PMDec 7, 2022 8:51 PM
blue whale
(Credit: Andrew Sutton/Shutterstock)

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The largest animals to ever live are intensely dependent on some of the smallest. Blue whales feed exclusively on tiny marine organisms — especially krill — and rely on huge numbers of them.  

But blue whales face a number of challenges in finding their food. The ocean is a big place, for one thing. Finding a needle in a haystack is probably a lot easier than finding a patch of krill in the ocean. There are also logistical hurdles: blue whales need to find dense enough patches that it’s worth spending the energy to eat them. How blue whales hone in on these rich feeding areas has been a mystery, but recently published research points to a remarkable method: chasing the wind.  

On the Hunt

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