Bubble-net feeding

Common card · No. 395173

Bubble-net feeding is a specialized feeding behavior primarily seen in humpback whales, in which groups of whales use exhaled air to create a "net" of bubbles that corrals schools of small fish or krill before a coordinated surface lunge. It is one of the few surface feeding behaviors that humpback whales are known to engage in, and is understood as being a learned rather than instinctual behavior; not all humpback populations practice it. A similar behavior has been observed in Bryde's whales though whether it is true bubble-net feeding remains uncertain. Groups of up to twenty whales may participate simultaneously; humpbacks may also perform a related technique called lunge feeding when alone. Bubble-net feeding is a seasonal behavior, tied to humpback's annual migration to cold, prey-rich feeding grounds where they must accumulate enough energy reserves to sustain them through a winter breeding season, during which they do not eat.

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