Digestive system of humpback whales Digestive system of humpback whales The digestive system of humpback whales ("Megaptera novaeangliae") is adapted to digest tiny crustaceans such as krill, plankton, and small fish (including herring and mackerel) which the whale filters from the ocean using its baleen, a sieve-like structure in the upper jaw. Humpback whales belong to the parvorder baleen whales, which are carnivorous, seasonal feeders. The baleen, a sieve-like structure in the upper jaw made of keratin, is used to filter plankton, among other food sources, from the water. Ventral grooves are expandable concave furrows that line a whale's throat and have the peculiarity of
Whale conservation certain other species of high intelligence: humans, other great apes, bottlenose dolphins and elephants. There is an argument that whales should not be killed because of their high intelligence. Pro-whalers claim that pigs also possess high intelligence, and are routinely butchered and eaten, and that intelligence should not be the determining factor of whether an animal is acceptable to eat or not. Whale meat products from certain species have been shown to contain pollutants such as PCBs, mercury, and dioxins. Levels of pollutants in toothed-whale products are significantly higher than those of baleen whales, reflecting the fact that toothed whales