How well can a bowhead whale see or hear?
It is thought that baleen whales (including bowhead whales) probably have excellent hearing, which is valuable in the dark ocean environment where vision is less useful. Low-frequency sound can travel great distances under water, which is great for bowhead whales since scientists believe the whales’ ears are designed for low-frequency hearing. Bowhead whales are highly vocal and have a large repertoire of calls and songs. The echoes of these calls may be used to help the whales navigate through the ice as they migrate. What do bowheads whales eat? As bowheads are baleen whales, they filter their food through their long baleen plates, which can be over 13 feet (4 meters) long. Bowhead whales open their great mouths and graze along the surface, in the water column, or on the sea floor. Bowheads mostly eat zooplankton including copepods and small shrimp-like animals called euphausiids (most are only 1-3 mm long). Scientists estimate that a bowhead whale needs to eat about 100 metric tons
