Humpback whales leap out of the water, a behavior called breaching, for various reasons such as communication, navigation, play, or maybe to get rid of parasites on their skin.
When humpback whales leap out of the water, it’s not just to impress tourists! This behavior, called breaching, can actually serve to disorient and scare their prey. These whales primarily hunt in tight circles by blowing underwater curtains of bubbles to gather their prey, such as small fish or krill. A sudden leap out of the water creates a violent noise when they fall back to the surface: it generates strong vibrations and a powerful sound underwater, which helps to panic schools of prey. In response to this stress, these prey then cluster even more closely together, making it easier for the following whales to capture them. This leap also seems to be used as a means of visual communication by the whales to coordinate their collective hunting actions. Of course, these are not the only possible reasons, but they are the most commonly accepted by researchers today.
When a humpback whale breaches out of the water in the middle of a hunt, it creates a massive shockwave upon falling back. This underwater noise and the sudden commotion heavily disturb and disorient schools of fish like herring or sand eels. As a result, the prey instinctively huddles closer together, panicked and disoriented. This is exactly what the whales are after: dense schools that are easy to capture in one big collective gulp, like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Thanks to this controlled chaos, they maximize their food intake while expending the least amount of energy possible. It's a particularly clever and effective hunting strategy, and it's as spectacular as it is ingenious.
Specialists believe that these jumps could be a strategy to disorient or herd fish, thus making them easier to catch. Some studies also suggest that the powerful noise generated by the whale's splash acts like a real sonic shock, temporarily immobilizing small prey nearby. However, this still needs to be clearly validated as directly observing these behaviors in the wild is not easy! Researchers are now using drones and underwater cameras to gain a better understanding, but we are still at the hypothesis stage. The combination of the spectacular jump with the bubble net technique remains one of the preferred avenues for scientists at this time.
Humpback whales primarily use breaching and bubbles to stun and trap their prey. However, this is not the case for all cetaceans. For example, orcas (or killer whales) rely more on fast and precise group chases, without necessarily jumping. They cooperate to encircle their target and restrict its movements. In contrast, common dolphins often use a method called "carousel," rapidly swimming around a school of fish to herd and stun them, making capture easier. Sperm whales, on the other hand, dive deep to hunt squid and fish, relying mainly on their exceptional diving abilities rather than spectacular jumps. Each species thus adapts its hunting strategy to its own physical capabilities and the available prey in its natural habitat.
Humpback whales have baleen, brush-like structures that effectively filter their prey from the large amounts of water ingested during hunting.
Each humpback whale is identifiable by the unique and distinctive patterns found under its fluke. These patterns are used by scientists to track individuals throughout their lives.
The leap out of the water by whales, known as 'breaching', can also serve to communicate between individuals, express social behavior, or get rid of skin parasites.
Some species of dolphins also use collaborative hunting strategies similar to humpback whales, encircling their prey in air bubbles to facilitate capture.
Scientists are still questioning the actual energetic benefits of this technique. Although it may initially require a lot of energy, the leap can optimize food intake by grouping schools of fish, making the energy expenditure worthwhile in the long run due to a significant increase in their hunting efficiency.
In general, no. Humpback whales do not exhibit any aggressive behavior towards humans and do not consider humans as a food source, preferring small fish or krill. However, given their monumental size and ability to leap out of the water, it is recommended to maintain a safe distance when observing these animals in their natural habitat.
No, humpback whales do not only breach when they are hunting. They also perform this activity, known as 'breaching', to communicate, establish dominance, or rid their skin of parasites. However, this behavior is particularly observed and studied when they are hunting to optimize their prey capture technique.
Humpback whales primarily feed on small fish and crustaceans. Among their favorite prey are schools of herring, sardines, anchovies, and especially, krill. Their group hunting method allows them to easily and effectively capture these species.
No, jumping out of the water while hunting is a specific technique mainly used by humpback whales. Other whale species use different methods: orcas opt for coordinated attacks, while sperm whales dive deeply while free diving in pursuit of squids.
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