The height of a person does not exceed the size of the caudal fin of an adult animal.
Scientists recorded how a whale competed in speed with the Ukrainian icebreaker Noosphere in Antarctica.
“We managed to shoot a unique video from the Noosphere: a humpback whale racing with a ship. It was just sailing through the Penola Strait in Antarctica (this is the area of our Akademik Vernadsky station),” said the National Antarctic Center of Ukraine.
Based on the body proportions, scientists determined that this whale is still a teenager. Therefore, his mother must also be somewhere nearby. It is said that in general, the cubs feed on their mother’s milk for up to a year, but after six months they can eat the same food as adult animals (krill).
Scientists say that humpbacks got their name because of the dorsal fin, which gives the body a humpback shape, and also due to the habit of strongly arching their back in the area of this fin when diving.
An adult humpback whale is up to 18 meters long and weighs up to 40 tons. It is interesting that the height of a person does not exceed the size of the tail fin of this animal.
Humpbacks have many types of activities at the surface of the water, in particular, they jump a lot, make nets of air bubbles while feeding, actively vocalize and gather in groups.
Animals in Antarctica – details
In Antarctica, Ukrainian scientists found a penguin nest at an unusually high “point” – at an altitude of 295 meters above sea level. In particular, the scientist discovered “spouses” of subantarctic penguins with a chick at Cape Tuxen on the Kyiv Peninsula. It is located near Galindez Island, where the Ukrainian Antarctic station “Akademik Vernadsky” is located. Previously, the highest points where the scientist encountered nests were the cliffs on the islands of But and Hovgard, 180 meters above sea level.
In general, subantarctic penguins like to make nests on high ground, because this way there is less chance of them being covered with snow, and, accordingly, there is a greater chance of successful breeding. But why some black and white birds climb to such heights – scientists do not yet have a logical explanation.
