Whales Blow Clever Bubble Nets to Catch Dinner
Newly discovered behavior is an example of tool creation, scientists say
Humpback whales are clever creatures. They’re known to blow bubbles to create, in effect, a net that surrounds shrimp-like krill, which the whales love to feed on. But a new study finds they actually manipulate these bubble nets in creative ways that should elevate the cetaceans to the rare class of animals that manufacture and use tools.
Several animal species use tools to find food. Only a handful create or modify their tools. If you believe bubble nets are tools, then the argument seems pretty solid. Here’s what the scientists observed:
“These whales skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form nets with internal rings, actively controlling details like the number of rings, the size and depth of the net, and the spacing between bubbles,” said Lars Bejder, a researcher at the University of Hawaii’s Marine Mammal Research Program and co-lead author of the new study study. “This method lets them capture up to seven times more prey in a single feeding dive without using extra energy. This impressive behavior places humpback whales among the rare group of animals that both make and use their own tools for hunting.”
The humpbacks, which spend winter near Hawaii, were studied in their summer feeding grounds near Alaska. The findings are detailed this week in the journal Royal Society Open Science.