A lot of animals should feel lucky that their species doesn't have an ethics committee. These creatures employ some mighty bizarre, shrewd, and sometimes
UH Manoa, called the footage “groundbreaking.”
“We’re observing how these animals are manipulating their prey and preparing the prey for capture. [The footage] is allowing us to gain new insights that we really haven’t been able to do before,” Bejder said.
According to Bejder, around 3,000 humpback whales visit Alaska during the summer feeding period. When the whales leave their foraging grounds and migrate 3,000 miles to Hawaii, they stop eating until their return several months later. Upon their return, the whales are very hungry, so they immediately begin bubble-net fishing.
BCwhales.org, participate in this cooperative feeding behavior. One whale typically dives below a school of prey and then slowly begins a spiral dance upward, blowing bubbles in a circular motion to form a bubble net. The bubbles rise to the surface, trapping the school of fish and forcing them toward the surface near the center of the circle.