We are still learning about what and how harbor porpoises eat, here and around the world. In the waters around Spain, needle fish are a known part of the diet of harbor porpoises as well as other cetaceans in the area. What is interesting about that is that these animals eat fish head first, exclusively, we thought. This may have evolved to protect them from fish that have sharp spines or hard scales that could damage the soft tissue of the esophagus. But with needle fish, the danger lies more in the head (their mouth is long, sharp and full of teeth), so does it make sense to eat it head first? In this interesting note, the researchers document 3 cases where harbor porpoises ate needle fish... but tail first! Is this the normal way to eat this prey species, are these outliers, what is going on? Join us as we discuss what they found, why it is so interesting and why we still have so much to learn about what they are eating!

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Paper is available here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12781