Blue
whales perform underwater acrobatics to attack their prey from below,
scientists have found.
The
massive mammals are known for lunge-feeding; gulping up to 100 tonnes of
krill-filled water in less than 10 seconds.
Using
suction cup tags, US researchers have recorded the surprising manoeuvrability
of the giants.
They
found that the whales roll 360 degrees in order to orientate themselves for a
surprise attack.
The
results are published in the Royal
Society journal Biology Lettersby Dr Jeremy Goldbogen and colleagues for
the Cascadia Research Collective based in Washington, US.
"Despite
being the largest animals to have ever lived, blue whales still show an
impressive capacity to perform complex manoeuvres that are required to
efficiently exploit patches of krill," said Dr Goldbogen.
Read
on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20509831
Posts
