Digestive system of humpback whales stretching like an accordion. They allow whales to open their mandible to 90 degrees to gulp water and prey. They expel saltwater through the baleen plates, leaving behind krill and plankton. The whale's tongue plays a vital role in filter feeding, as it is used to push the water out of its mouth while keeping the prey trapped in its baleen bristles. As humpback whales do not have teeth, their food is swallowed whole and travels down the esophagus into the preliminary stomach (known as the forestomach) to be ground. Baleen whales have a multi-chambered stomach, divided into three distinct
Captive killer whales of captive killer whales belong to the AMMPA, but exhibitors in other countries do not. The tanks in most marine parks are considerably larger than the minimum sizes required by regulations. However, the Miami Seaquarium has been criticized for the small size of the tank holding their sole killer whale, Lolita, which is less than two of her body lengths wide at any point. Building a new tank would be costly and there is little prospect of replacing the aging Lolita. On average, an adult killer whale in the wild may eat about three to four percent of their body