Toothed whales don’t use their teeth to chew like you and I do. Instead, they either swallow food whole, or tear it into pieces which they can swallow. Toothed whales are a varied group, displaying great variety in their body shapes and coloration, and in the kind of food they like to eat. Even their teeth differ, ranging from the tiny embedded teeth of the beaked whales to the over 6.5 foot (2 meter) tusk of the Narwhal. Although there are exceptions, most toothed whales are much smaller than most baleen whales. Toothed whales are also more likely to travel and hunt in groups (called “pods”) than are baleen whales, which tend to be more solitary.
