“Espionage” allows the whales to gain more information about what is happening around them.
Ukrainian polar explorers from the Akademik Vernadsky station photographed whales “watching” over the ocean in Antarctica. The video was posted by the National Antarctic Science Center on Facebook on Sunday, June 30.
Humpback whales poked their big heads out of the water to ask questions about the researchers on the boat and their work. At this moment, researcher Anna Torgonenko recorded the “spies” on video.
“This type of behavior is called spyhopping. At this moment, the whale is placed in the water vertically or slightly at an angle, raising its head and eyes above the surface before plunging back into the ocean, the animal is can be 90-180 degrees. For an understanding of the size: the length of humps is about 15 meters, and the head covers a quarter of their body,” the report said.
In addition to humpback whales, this behavior is often observed in killer whales in Antarctica.
According to scientists, both whales and killer whales can see enough on the surface of the water, so “spying” gives them the opportunity to get more information about what is happening around them.
“For killer whales, it is especially important to check the ice floes in search of seals and penguins, which they then wash from the ice with water waves or with the help of other manipulations in this method of hunting , they have to spend a lot of time with their heads above the ocean,” said the polar explorers.
The study of whales is one of the areas of work of scientists at the Akademik Vernadsky station. The research program for these animals, in particular, includes their photo identification, biopsy sampling and sound recording.
We remind you that early Ukrainian polar explorers showed a meeting with a leopard seal “sunning” on an ice floe.
In June, the emperor penguin visited the Ukrainian Antarctic station again.
Polar explorers have shown how whales jump in Antarctica
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Source: korrespondent
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