Auckland University of Technology students in New Zealand captured drone footage of a Bryde's Whale feeding with a calf while conducting research in waters off the coast of Auckland. The result, shot with a custom-made drone, will mesmerize you.
"I was in awe of these creatures," Barbara Bollard Breen, one of the scientists on the expedition, said, according to a quote featured in the video. "Never before have I seen anything like this. There is no way we would see so much detail from a boat-based survey."
These whales are "critically threatened in New Zealand," according to the video, and scientists think there are fewer than 200 left in the country's waters.
The whale spotted in this footage is about 40 feet long and this species feeds in a variety of ways, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"These whales opportunistically feed on plankton (e.g., krill and copepods), and crustaceans (e.g. pelagic red crabs, shrimp) as well as schooling fish (e.g., anchovies, herring, mackerel, pilchards, and sardines)," NOAA wrote in a description of the whales.
"Bryde's Whales use different methods to feed, including skimming the surface, lunging, and creating bubble nets."
Topics Animals
