The researchers say it's an example of tool use by animals, something that few other animals are known to do, like sea otters, monkeys, and crows. These whales are actually manufacturing these tools, Szabo says.
To do it, Szabo and researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa used special suction-cup cameras with motion sensors that stick to the whale's back. They also used drones for an aerial view.
It is not a random behavior. It's a very structured, choreographed behavior. The 50-foot whales blow circles of bubbles underwater, creating a net of air that entraps the krill.
The humpback keeps blowing bubbles, but in tighter circles, causing the net to become smaller and effectively trapping more krill within the shrinking bubble formation.
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