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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Whales Bubble Net Feeding-edit1.jpg

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Original
Reason
This is a relatively rarely seen behavior. It has only been documented in humpbacks off the coast of Alaska since the 1960s. The naturalist on our boat noted that in all of his years of tours, he had only seen the behavior five times. This is an image taken on film and developed and then scanned. I originally put it up for a picture peer review, and a couple editors thought I should give it a shot in FPC. I'm very new at this, so be gentle. Thanks a lot.--Eva bd 19:32, 22 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Proposed caption
Off the coast of Juneau, Alaska, a group of 15 humpback whales catches herring using the bubble net fishing technique. In this technique, which is unique to humpback whales, the animals exhale through their blowholes while swimming in a tightening spiral so as to create a cylindrical wall of bubbles under the water. The wall of bubbles acts as a net that fish are reluctant to swim through. The whales then suddenly swim upwards through the bubble net, mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in each gulp. This technique can involve a ring of bubbles up to 30 m (100 ft) in diameter and the cooperation of a dozen animals. Some whales take the task of blowing the bubbles, some dive deeper to drive fish towards the surface, and others herd fish into the net by vocalizing. The seagull in the frame is scavenging for leftover fish.
Articles this image appears in
Humpback whale
Creator
Eva bd, edited by jjron hi
  • It was rather difficult. The swarm of gulls flying over the surface made it easy to see the general area where the whales were netting the fish, but when they actually did surface, I was almost too late. I've put up several other pictures that weren't nearly as good from my digital camera. My partner had a much more enjoyable time simply watching the action rather than fretting over getting the pictures.--Eva bd 02:47, 24 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Promoted Image:Whales Bubble Net Feeding-edit1.jpg MER-C 03:34, 30 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]