Ukrainian polar explorers showed how humpback whales “spy” in the Antarctic

Ukrainian polar explorers from the National Antarctic Science Center showed one of the interesting types of humpback whale behavior — spyhopping, i.e. "espionage".

This is written by the National Academy of Sciences.

"Spying", the whale takes a vertical position in the water or slightly at an angle, keeping its head and eyes above the surface. The head is a quarter of the humpback whaleʼs body, which is usually 15 meters long. This position gives them the opportunity to investigate what is happening on the surface.

The humpback whale, which was captured on video by polar explorers, came out to ask what the researchers were doing in the boat.

The study of whales is one of the areas of work of scientists at the Akademik Vernadskyi station, which includes their photo identification, biopsies and sound recording.

In addition to humpback whales, this type of behavior is characteristic of killer whales. They often "spy" to survey the ice floes for seals and penguins. When found, they are washed off the ice with waves of water, and then eaten.

• Earlier, Ukrainian polar explorers showed how a young humpback whale jumps. Although such whales jump often, capturing it on video is real luck, according to researchers.