Here is one of the most interesting natural phenomena that you have ever seen. A breathtaking new video by the University of Hawaii shows humpback whales swimming in a circular pattern while blowing bubbles to create a “net” to encircle their prey. For the first time ever, the university’s researchers captured this regular whale behavior from an amazing whale’s-point-of-view along with drone footage.
Humpback whales swimming in a circular pattern while blowing bubbles to create a “net” to encircle their prey
“The footage is rather groundbreaking,” said Lars Bejder, director of the UH Mānoa Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP). “We’re observing how these animals are manipulating their prey and preparing the prey for capture. It is allowing us to gain new insights that we really haven’t been able to do before.”
During the summer feeding period, about 3,000 humpback whales visit Alaska, while up to 10,000 of them are in Hawaii for the winter breeding period. When leaving their foraging grounds and migrating 3,000 miles, the whales stop feeding until their return several months later. Females in Hawaii use large amounts of energy when giving birth, lactating, and raising their offspring before migrating back to their foraging grounds.
Illustration at the below showing how a humpback whale blows a “net” made of bubbles and then splashes its flippers at the net’s weak parts to reinforce them before lunging to swallow the captured prey [marked in yellow].
