Antarctic whale ‘acrobatics’ revealed in drone footage

As well as helping researchers to monitor the emerging threats to whales, drones shine new light on some fascinating marine mammal behaviour.

By filming humpback whales working together to feed – something we witnessed in Antarctica – scientists gain insight into how the animals learn and co-operate.

“[When we’ve studied humpbacks] feeding in Alaska and off the US coast, the rules are very prescribed,” said Dr Friedlaender.

“There’s generally one animal blowing a bubble net around the prey and the other animals have these individual roles.

“In Antarctica, we often see multiple animals in a feeding ground all blowing bubbles at the same time.”

Researchers are still working to understand what this means, but some suspect that the Antarctic whales might still be learning the feeding technique and have not yet “refined it” to give each animal a role.