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Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita...
blue whale

Whale fossil from Peru may have been heavier than blue whale

Scientists examining the bones of a 39 million-year-old ancient whale have concluded that it may...
Humpback whale © Christopher Swann

Humpback whales breach in synchronisation

Humpback whales are renowned for their incredible acrobatic displays, but a family in the USA...
Long-finned pilot whale

Unusual activity witnessed before pilot whale stranding

Just days after a pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded on an island in the...

Blue whale filmed feeding on krill off New Zealand

Rare footage of a blue whale hoovering up a ball of krill has been taken in the Southern Ocean off the coast of New Zealand. Researchers from the Hatfield Marine Science Center at Oregon State University recorded the whale twisting its body to lunge feed on the tiny prey.

On another occasion a whale passed through a mass of krill without feeding. The researchers believe the blue whale uses a lot of energy in slowing down to feed (from around 6 mph to 1 mph) and then getting going again, so unless the krill group is large enough to replace the lost energy, it’s not worth eating.

Blue whales in the waters around Antarctica was once thought to number around 200,000 but decades of whaling reduced them to a fraction of this figure. Today, around 2,000 are thought to survive.

The footage here was taken by trained drone operators to carefully avoid disturbing the whales. Drones should always be used responsibly and where appropriate under permit, with minimal disturbance to the wildlife (or people!).