Harbor Porpoises
Diet:
In terms of diet, porpoises are known to consume fish squid and crustaceans as part of their primary food sources. To assist them with locating prey; porpoises hunt for food using echolocation. In addition to helping them find food, echolocation also helps them navigate the ocean in areas where light is absent, and also to keep track of other pod members. Although porpoises are predators they prefer to hunt in shallow coastal waters and usually hunt for food near or at the surface of the water. Due to the porpoises small size it requires frequent eating in order to maintain its energy and body heat as compared to some of the larger cetacean species that can reserve large amounts of energy which they store in their fat/blubber.
Communication:
Harbor Porpoises communicate using …show more content…
They prefer to live in groups of 10 or less, but during times of feeding and other social interactions can turn into groups of several hundred. They aren’t as energetic as dolphins when it comes to showing off, and are more reserved with their leaping and jumping. They also tend to say in a certain area, and generally do not leave their habitat for very long when they travel.
Predators:
Harbor porpoises are killed by their predators: killer whales and large sharks, like the great white shark. The biggest threat to harbor porpoises however is fishing nets. Every year porpoises die when they get stuck in fishing nets and cannot surface in order to breath. It is fascinating to hear that Harbor Porpoises in Europe, where there are no Killer Whales and large sharks, are apex predators. An apex predator is the predator at the top of the food chain with no predators. There are gruesome images of ravaged Harbor porpoises on Google and other media sites as well. The most common reason for this sickening sight is getting caught in nets and the rough netting scratching the porpoise’s
In terms of diet, porpoises are known to consume fish squid and crustaceans as part of their primary food sources. To assist them with locating prey; porpoises hunt for food using echolocation. In addition to helping them find food, echolocation also helps them navigate the ocean in areas where light is absent, and also to keep track of other pod members. Although porpoises are predators they prefer to hunt in shallow coastal waters and usually hunt for food near or at the surface of the water. Due to the porpoises small size it requires frequent eating in order to maintain its energy and body heat as compared to some of the larger cetacean species that can reserve large amounts of energy which they store in their fat/blubber.
Communication:
Harbor Porpoises communicate using …show more content…
They prefer to live in groups of 10 or less, but during times of feeding and other social interactions can turn into groups of several hundred. They aren’t as energetic as dolphins when it comes to showing off, and are more reserved with their leaping and jumping. They also tend to say in a certain area, and generally do not leave their habitat for very long when they travel.
Predators:
Harbor porpoises are killed by their predators: killer whales and large sharks, like the great white shark. The biggest threat to harbor porpoises however is fishing nets. Every year porpoises die when they get stuck in fishing nets and cannot surface in order to breath. It is fascinating to hear that Harbor Porpoises in Europe, where there are no Killer Whales and large sharks, are apex predators. An apex predator is the predator at the top of the food chain with no predators. There are gruesome images of ravaged Harbor porpoises on Google and other media sites as well. The most common reason for this sickening sight is getting caught in nets and the rough netting scratching the porpoise’s