Use waves as boards. Scientists have just learned that whales are surfing in the ocean (video)

Civil science helped researchers to declassify how one of the rare whales in the world ride on waves, as if on a surfboard. The ocean covers most of the planet's surface and is home to the largest animals in the world - whales. Unfortunately, the large size of the animal does not mean that we know much about them and their lives.

For example, in the case of one of the most rare and elusive 16-meter whales, they are considered to be one of the least studied species of mustache whales, IFLSCIENCE writes. Fortunately, for us and science in general, with the help of civil science, we have just discovered the amazing behavior of these marine giants. Scientists have been able to learn more about their eating habits, as well as interesting behavior - whales love to ride on waves as if surfers. In focus.

Technology has appeared its Telegram channel. Subscribe not to miss the latest and most intricate news from the world of science! Whales around the world have all sorts of fascinating feeding methods: from creating spirals from bubbles to a rack on the head and accidental seals. But in a new study, scientists have managed to reveal another amazing method of feeding whales: when hunting in shallow water, they use waves to get food.

Braid's whales are considered the only "tropical" whale in the world, since most of the time, these marine giants are spent in warm coastal waters around the north and southern Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as the southern and northern Atlantic. It is known that other species of whales migrate to follow the fish and wings, at the same time, the whales of Brida, according to scientists, remain in about the same area all year long.

Observations also showed that they use different tactics for catching prey in seasonal changes. And yet, scientists say that we are incredibly little known about Brida's whales and Australian waters in general. Fortunately, civic science and new technologies, including drones, help to shed light on what whales are doing off the coast of Australia. In total, 15 whales were removed: more than 200 photos and more than an hour of video between 2012 and 2021.

In the video, you can see the whales ride on the waves, using inertia of water to feed the bait. Scientists are not sure, but believe that the surf probably helps whales eat. According to the author of the study, Dr. Vanessa Pirotta from the group from the study of marine predators at the University of McCouri, they with their colleagues watched the whales moving with the surf during feeding, sometimes keeping their mouths open as they slid on the surface of the ocean.

This behavior of "surfing in the shallow water" was not previously observed in Brida's whales and, according to scientists, it shows how much the gigants managed to adapt to the collection of coastal sources of food. In addition to "surfing" whales were also spotted during feeding, especially returning to the right side with a wide open mouth. Researchers say that photos and videos make it possible to confirm the idea that Braid's whales remain in the Australian waters all year long.