News Animals

A ‘trapdoor’ made of muscle and fat helps fin whales eat without choking

The plug may explain how all lunge-feeding whales keep water out of their lungs and gut

aerial photo of a fin whale breaching the ocean surface with its mouth open

A fin whale lunges, with mouth open and throat pouch distended, as it gulps prey-filled water in the southern Sea of Cortez. Researchers now know how they eat without choking on all that water.

Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo

By Sharon Oosthoek

- More than 2 years ago

Some of the world’s largest whales feed by lunging through the water with mouths wide open.