Filament
Today we got to see a feeding behavior I haven't seen in a long time - kick-feeding! This was done by a whale named Filament, a 20 year old female who has a very distinctive, beautiful fluke. During feeding, she lifted her fluke high above the water, and "kicked" it as it entered the water, which would concentrate the fish into a tighter group. Her unique feeding method combined her "kick" with a series of bubble clouds blown into a ring. We spent lots of time today watching those small, green bubble clouds rise up to the surface, waiting anxiously for Filament to erupt out of the water! We watched amazed as Filament fed near the boat while we sat with engines off.
The presence of hundreds of birds, including dive-bombing gannets, feeding shearwaters and petrels made for a spectacular scene!
Filament lunging upward with a mouthful of fish
Humpbacks are rorquals, which means "pleated" or "tubed whale," in reference to the ventral grooves that run from their chin to their naval. Here's Filament with her pleats extended, meaning she has a mouthful!Thanks to the passengers who joined us today - just by coming aboard you supported local marine education, conservation and research efforts! Special thanks to all of the New Hampshire/Maine teachers who were aboard and who also spent time with us on Friday and Monday developing some marine debris lesson plans related to our cleanup data. We hope to see you all again soon!
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1 comment:
We were onboard that day, and so enjoyed watching Filament and learning more about these animals.
Thanks so much for the exciting time, being from Mich. we don't have whales in our fresh water lakes.
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