Eden's Whale Gulf of Thailand Foraging Strategy

This is an Eden’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) in the Gulf of Thailand herding a mass of fish, likely a species of Sardinella. While swimming in a large circle to aggregate the fish, this whale slapped the surface several times as it moved along, perhaps to concentrate the fish. This tail-slapping behavior took place most often toward the end of the herding process, with a series of slaps often followed by a sudden turn toward the inside of the circle with mouth wide open in order to side-lunge through the panicked fish. This circle and side-lunge technique has become the dominant foraging technique since 2017, replacing the open-mouth trap feeding strategy that had been prevalent since the 1990s. I believe this reflects a change of target prey. The whales adapt their foraging strategies to target species.

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Image Size: 8157x4588 / 107.1MB; https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license#rm; https://www.tony-wu.com/contact-tony-wu; Whale Bryde's Whale Eden's Whale Animalia Chordata Mammalia Cetacea Mysticeti Balaenopteridae Balaenoptera edeni edeni CITES Appendix 1 Data Deficient: IUCN Red List Filter Feeder Marine Mammal Mysticete Rorqual Feeding Foraging Hunting Pacific Gulf of Thailand

This is an Eden’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) in the Gulf of Thailand herding a mass of fish, likely a species of Sardinella. While swimming in a large circle to aggregate the fish, this whale slapped the surface several times as it moved along, perhaps to concentrate the fish. This tail-slapping behavior took place most often toward the end of the herding process, with a series of slaps often followed by a sudden turn toward the inside of the circle with mouth wide open in order to side-lunge through the panicked fish. This circle and side-lunge technique has become the dominant foraging technique since 2017, replacing the open-mouth trap feeding strategy that had been prevalent since the 1990s. I believe this reflects a change of target prey. The whales adapt their foraging strategies to target species.