Wikimedia, NOAA Photo LibraryWhirling whales
With a body size that rivals that of a space shuttle and two wimpy-looking flippers for steering, you might not expect a blue whale to be a talented tumbler, deftly maneuvering in its watery world. But don’t underestimate the power of hunger. Researchers discovered that, in pursuit of tiny prey, a famished blue whale—the world’s largest predator—swiftly spins 360 degrees to gain the most advantageous angle for a mouthful of krill. The new finding, published last week (November 28) in Biology Letters, takes a sharp turn from other whales, which only roll 90 to 150 degrees while hunting.
"We think that this behavior improves the whale's chances of engulfing the most amount of krill possible," lead author Jeremy Goldbogen, of the Cascadia Research Collective in ...
