12/07/2012

Blue Whale Barrel Roll Caught on Camera

Image courtesy of Jeremy Goldbogen
Image courtesy of Jeremy Goldbogen

Reporting in the journal Biology Letters, Jeremy Goldbogen and colleagues say blue whales perform underwater acrobatics when they’re eating: they rotate 360 degrees while they gulp krill. Reaching 90 feet in length, blue whales are the largest animals on the planet. Goldbogen is studying their dining habits to understand what fuels their growth.

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About Flora Lichtman

Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.