[貼圖] 座頭鯨聯群表演海上舞

vandas

在美國阿拉斯加海岸附近，一群座頭鯨躍出水面似在表演海上舞。

生活在太平洋中的座頭鯨約有5000頭，每夏季游到阿拉斯加海域覓食，冬天又返回墨西哥附近海域。


Feeding time: Three humpback whales rise in tandem to  gobble up a school of fish after blowing bubbles to trap them just under the  surface of the Pacific off Alaska


Air snare: By cleverly blowing air at depths of up to  600ft using their powerful lungs, the humpbacks can create masses of bubbles  which confuse and trap their prey


Keeping their trap shut: The whales close their mouths  as they sink beneath the surface with lunch well on the way to their  stomachs


Teamwork: With the whales needing to consume around  3,000lbs of food a day, it is essential they work as a team to corral as many  fish as possible


Open-mouthed: The 35-tonne giants make sure they break  the surface at exactly the same time to ensure they snare as many fish as  possible before they can escape the bubble net


Capturing the action: Photographer Jon Cornforth caught  the feeding session in the waters of Frederick Sound in the north east Pacific  Ocean, near Alaska


Predatory instinct: As winter turns to summer, humpbacks  travel from the warm waters off Mexico to Alaska to feed on fish such as salmon  that are returning to their spawning grounds in huge numbers to breed


Rising up: Despite their huge size, they exhibit the  grace of synchronised swimmers to go with their cunning tactics, proving  themselves fearsome predators


Making a song and a dance: One whale certainly seems  happy about this latest meal. Humpbacks can weigh two tons at birth and grow to  more than 45ft and 40 tons when full size


Impressive: Humpbacks can dive for up to 45 minutes,  reach depths of 600ft and blow out air from their blowholes at speeds of  300mph

Each to their own: Their lungs can hold 2,500 gallons of  air and each whale can be identified from the unique marking on the underside of  its tail


Five-course meal: Feeding time for these hungry giants  stretches until sunset. Each whale needs to consume around 3,000lbs of food a  day


On the rise: Once under threat from whaling ships, new  laws are helping to preserve and even increase world numbers of humpback whales,  currently estimated to be more than 60,000

神影者

據說鯨魚是地球的守護者，鯨亡地球就滅亡，大家不要再殺鯨了。