Gorgeous new footage may shed light on one of the mysteries of the largest animal that ever lived: How do blue whales nurse?
National Geographic Explorer and marine ecologist Leigh Torres made the likely discovery of nursing while on a research cruise in the South Taranaki Bight off the western coast of New Zealand. On February 5, the Oregon State University professor got video that she thinks shows a mother blue whale and her calf nursing beneath the waves.
Although she can't definitely say that's what the pair was doing, the fact that the smaller whale kept alternating between breathing at the surface and swimming under its mother to spend some time at the same spot strongly suggests nursing, says Torres. This would make it the first known footage of nursing in blue whales. Read more...