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Toothed Whales Toothed whales have no baleen, but they do have recognizable teeth in some form or other, and they all seek fairly large prey, ranging in size from small fish and squid to giant squid, large tuna and salmon, and even other marine mammals and whales. The largest toothed whale is the sperm whale, both feared and sought after by the early whalers, and still a prey species today. Its lower jaw is dwarfed by the size of its enormous, bulbous head with its curi- ous single blowhole on the left side. Sharp teeth are found in the lower jaw, but none are present in the upper jaw. These teeth were a prize for the old whalers, who carved intricate designs on them on long winter nights, or during quiet times on whaling trips, producing an interesting form of art known as scrimshaw. This extraordinary creature is capable of the deepest and lon- gest-lasting dives of any whale, and sadly for it, it provided some of the most useful materials for the whalers in the form of oils and fats, a rich flesh, and the so-

Humpback whales use a technique called lunge feeding to catch herring and krill.

Killer whales often breach, leaping almost completely out of the water. This gives whale watchers an excellent opportunity to photograph the markings of the whale so that it can be recognized if seen again. The breaching may continue for long periods, and one breaching whale is sometimes joined by several others.

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