Baleen whale modern mysticetes are obligate filter feeders, using their baleen to strain small prey items (including small fish, krill, copepods, and zooplankton) from seawater. Despite their carnivorous diet, a 2015 study revealed they house gut flora similar to that of terrestrial herbivores. Different kinds of prey are found in different abundances depending on location, and each type of whale is adapted to a specialized way of foraging. There are two types of feeding behaviors: skim-feeding and lunge-feeding, but some species do both depending on the type and amount of food. Lunge-feeders feed primarily on euphausiids (krill), though some smaller lunge feeders
Whale conservation feed at a higher trophic level than baleen whales in the food chain (other high-up animals such as sharks, swordfish and large tuna show similarly high levels of mercury contamination). Organochloride pesticides HCH and HCB are also at higher levels in toothed species, while minke whales show higher levels than most other baleens. The red meat and blubber of (toothed) long-finned pilot whales in the Faroe Islands show high toxin levels, which has a detrimental effect on those who eat it. However, in Norway, only the red meat of minke whales is eaten and the levels of toxins conform to