||| FROM SCIENCE ALERT |||
Humpback whales caught blowing giant bubble rings underwater may have been attempting some kind of communication with their audience of human onlookers, a new study suggests.
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are known for blowing spiral bubble nets to hunt with, but not all bubbles have the same meaning in the world of whales. Some are intended to be playful; some frisky; and others are downright aggressive.
The particular genre of bubble-blowing documented in the report took the form of perfect circles, similar to ones described by biologist Roger Payne as “madly spinning doughnut-shaped clouds that look like giant smoke rings about three feet in diameter that rise rapidly to the surface.”
An international team of biologists and photographers reviewed videos and photos of whales producing bubble rings, taken from below the water by a swimmer or overboard from a boat, and above the surface either from a boat, a plane, or a drone.
This variety of sources adds to the context in which the whales produce their rings, particularly important if we want to know whether they’re meant as communication with humans or not.
Their data included a dozen separate examples of rings being made by the whales, equalling a total of 39 bubble rings generated by 11 different humpback whales.
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