- There are two main types of whales--the toothed whales and the toothless, or baleen whales. The latter are named for the double row of fringed cartilage in their mouths, which they use to filter food from seawater. While toothed whales such as orcas are able to catch and chew up larger prey, baleen whales rely on smaller sea creatures to meet their nutritional needs. Every day, the larger baleen whales eat about 4 percent of their total body weight in zooplankton (microscopic animals living in seawater) and tiny fish.
- The word "baleen" comes from the Middle English "baleine" and the Latin "balaena," both of which mean "whale." In baleen whales, these comb-like structures take the place of teeth, also growing down from the upper jaw along the sides of the mouth. The baleen is made of keratin, the same substance that your fingernails and hair are made of.
- The outer edges of the baleen plates are smooth, but on the inside, the plates lock together because they are fringed. This fringe acts as a filter for seawater, allowing the water to pass through while collecting the zooplankton and other small organisms in the whale's mouth. Baleen whales have several different methods for collecting food. Some cruise slowly through clouds of prey with their mouths open, and their motion forces the water through the baleen. Others gulp in large mouthfuls of water and then push it out through the baleen with their tongues or throat muscles.
- Whales have always been valuable, both culturally and economically, to the Inuit people of the Arctic region. While their traditional ways have begun to be abandoned for a variety of reasons, the Inuit still hunt whales and still put the baleen to good use. Whole baleens can be tied together to make a sled to haul the whale's carcass back to the village after a successful hunt. Baleen is the basis for storage containers, nets and snares, and when cut into strips, it is also used as fishing line and hardened into spears. Today, many Inuit people make art objects out of baleen for the tourism industry.
- Baleen was the source of stays for "whalebone" corsets in the 19th century, and these must-have fashion items caused whales to be hunted to near extinction. Even when corsets went out of fashion, cunning businessmen thought of a variety of other uses. Baleen was used in making umbrella ribs, buggy whips, chimney brushes, knife handles, bed springs and furniture stuffing. With the worldwide restrictions on whaling in the 20th century, today's baleen whales are relatively safe from being slaughtered for frivolous uses.
