Watch these humpback whales create a stunning Fibonacci spiral to capture prey
By Li Cohen
January 10, 2024 / 8:11 AM EST / CBS News
Your teacher was right – math is everywhere, and it turns out that even whales use it. Stunning drone video has captured two massive humpback whales in Antarctica creating a Fibonacci spiral, otherwise known as the "Golden Spiral," to create a bubble net and capture prey.
The video shows a three-layered spiral of bubbles rising to the ocean surface, with two large whales then surfacing right through the center. The action is known as bubble-net feeding, and according to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, it's a "complex, highly synchronized" group hunting strategy that involves "communication and cooperation, demonstrating signs of high social intelligence."
To make it happen, the whales have to dive deep below the ocean, where they then create bubbles through their blowholes "to stun and trap fish closer to the surface," the organization says.
"One whale generally leads the effort followed by the rest of the group," they add. "The leader will usually be responsible for blowing the bubbles and the other members will surround the fish, following them to the surface by swimming in spiral patterns to keep the fish trapped."
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