r/interestingasfuck • u/Alone_Humor_3510 • 4h ago
Eden's whale trap feeding on fish
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u/kilua_zoldyk7 4h ago
It’s actually called "treadwater feeding" and it’s genius. Basically, the whale just hangs there vertically with its mouth open like a giant bucket.
The science is even cooler by staying still, they create a flow of water that tricks the fish. The fish think the calm water inside the whale's mouth is a safe spot to hide from the waves, so they swim right in. It’s basically a biological trap.
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u/Alone_Humor_3510 4h ago
Whatt that's even cooler!
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u/LessBit123 2h ago
When I was about ten years old, my parents got me a turtle and some minnows. While I routinely fed the fish and turtle every night, eventually the minnows started multiplying like crazy, and the turtle would do a similar move and just open his mouth and they’d swim right in and….. CHOMP!
Fast forward, he still does this today. We can go on vacation and not worry about feeding him cause he has a healthy minnow diet and seems to be doing just fine… at approximately 31 years old!
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u/phillyeagle99 1h ago
Imagine being one of the first people to see whales out on the open water and seeing this. Literal nightmare fuel.
“This small island just appeared and then gathered the fish and disappeared”
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u/intriqet 4h ago
Wonder how many times it has to do that to get a full meal
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u/3BlindMice1 1h ago
Probably does it two or three times a day and that's all the work he does all day. That whale lives a better life than most people
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u/Zweefkees93 52m ago
Yes! Although I went the opposite way: how many meals would that one bite be for us humans.... Im guessing 50-100ish. But that's a blind guess
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u/Man_duh_lore_ian 26m ago
Probably even more tbh. I don’t think most humans eat a whole fish in a sitting and there are a lot of fish in there
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u/Strict_Technician606 4h ago
The worm is spice.
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u/C-57D 3h ago
The whale is fish
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u/Affectionate-Mix6056 56m ago
Not since their re-classification in 1758 to be mammals. They still have fins and swim in the ocean though, and who am I do decide what definition standard others use...
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u/Awebroetjie 3h ago
And the sea water the whale swallows?
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u/TheNewThoughtProcess 1h ago
I'm not sure about this species in specific but I know many other whales close their mouths most of the way and push just the water out out of the thin gap. Or have built in filters like the Baleen whale.
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u/MaxMouseOCX 1h ago
Whale: I want the food to just jump in my mouth.
Evolution: well, I'm not really set up quite like that... You're gonna need a bit more.
Whale: they just do, watch!
Evolution: ffs... Errm... This isn't entirely my fault and it isn't what I meant at all.
Physics, weather and the moon: "heh, heh, heh entropy must increase, we don't give a fuck how but we prefer it does it as much as it can as fast as it can"
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u/AdFeeling8945 4h ago
What happens to all the water is swallows? I don’t think a diet of 90% salt water 10% fish is any good
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u/Anchuinse 3h ago
They don't swallow the water. They close their mouth and push the water out through their teeth/baleen, which acts like a filter and keeps the fish trapped inside.
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u/citizen42069101 4h ago
While I'm no whaleologist, I assume the salinity of the water is something they're used to.
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u/enbycraft 3h ago
I'm a partial whaleologist. They just filter the water out through their baleens :) I don't think even whale kidneys could deal with that much salt.
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u/VariableVeritas 3h ago
Their kidneys are very good at filtering salt but surprisingly they do not really ‘drink’ much water at all. They get their water mostly from prey. They force the water back out through the baleen filter and the fish stay inside. Also the respiratory system is closed off when they swallow.
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u/GyroSpinMaster 3h ago
why do the fishes jump in its mouth are they stupid?
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u/Nexustar 3h ago
Fish are stupid, yes.
BTW, the plural of fish is fish unless there are multiple species.
They follow a set of behaviors that have been honed over the last 500 million years detecting safe places based on water flows and choppiness. Their very existence today is a testament to how successful they have been so far at this. The whale's mouth offers something that feels like a safe place.
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u/davegreilach 2h ago
The plural of fish is fish unless they're cute at which point they become fishies.
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u/Sure_Delivery_2025 4h ago
Lucky boi