Humpback feeding

An excellent photo taken by James Wendy of Australia showing the inside of a humpback whale’s mouth.  It is interesting to note that this whale came out of the water and held this position for close to thirty seconds while James manages to get several great pictures.  “Baleen is a strong, yet flexible material made out of keratin, a protein that is the same material that makes up our hair and fingernails. It is used by whales to filter their prey from the sea water.   Some baleen whales, like the humpback whale, feed by gulping large amounts of prey (in our area herring) and water and then using their tongue to force the water out in between the baleen plates.”About.com Marine Life