Krill buildup could slow fin whale filter-feeding unless baleen stays 15% clear

Usually there's safety in numbers, but it doesn't always work that way.

Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) filter-feed on immense shoals of krill, engulfing colossal mouthfuls of water containing up to 144 kg of the crustaceans.

But then the mighty creatures expel the water by squeezing it out through the racks of baleen lining their mouths. ...