Subject: size of the gullet in a blue whale

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>Gentlemen,
>
>Could you tell me the approximate diameter of an adult blue whale's
>gullet (at the narrowest point)?  Thanking you in advance.
>
>Josh Duncan

Dear Josh,

I looked in a few books on blue whales, but unfortunately, I couldn't find
a measurement of the narrowest point in a blue whale's gullet.  However, a
local biologist claims that he heard it's quite narrow--about the diameter
of a grapefruit.  This makes sense, since the whale doesn't need a wide
gullet to swallow krill.  But note, though this may make sense, it also may
not be true.  At lot of science starts with guess work, until someone makes
a better guess.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Best,

Joe

Joseph Roman
University of Florida
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
PO Box 12253
Gainesville, FL 32604
(352) 379-8096
jroman@ufl.edu

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