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Rare Video Captures Sperm Whale in Deep Sea

170 points by curtis 12y ago

DyslexicAtheist 12y ago
"video is currently unavailable"
- runarberg 12y ago
  You can see the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkBpummjR5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkBpummjR5I
  - degenerate 12y ago
    Cheesy with the added elevator music. Original link is better :)
- andyford 12y ago
  rare video indeed
skywhopper 12y ago
I went on a whale-watching cruise last winter, and we were lucky enough that one of the humpbacks came very close to our ship and even went under it close enough to the surface that we could see it clearly. Obviously the crowd of non-scientist tourists who were expecting to just see some flukes and fins off in the distance were oohing and aahing like crazy. It was really thrilling and exciting. So it's heartwarming and hilarious and wonderful to hear exactly the same reactions out of the marine scientists watching this video feed showing this highly curious sperm whale. It's worth watching just to get that buzz of joy.
foz 12y ago
I loved this video not so much for the whale, but because of the audio commentary from the scientists. It's so inspiring to listen to a really great team react to something like that. They clearly work brilliantly together, and with humor.
- aaronharnly 12y ago
  I'm charmed that they sound about as nerdy and astonished as I and my friends would if dropped into the same situation.
  - azinman2 12y ago
    Super nerdy
- saganus 12y ago
  "...or maybe from a Krrrrraken!" :)
  - romankolpak 12y ago
    I thought that was hilarious. But in the video no one laughed which is a shame :(
MRSallee 12y ago
Not to be vulgar, but a dead sperm whale washed up on a beach in Pacifica, Californa on Tuesday, just 15 minutes south of SF. http://flic.kr/p/s7qCvj http://flic.kr/p/s7qCvj
- icpmacdo 12y ago
  Do they still blow them up?
  - Reedx 12y ago
    I was wondering about this too... According to the local news (as of last night) they didn't know how they were going to get rid of it yet. Currently they are performing an autopsy though to try and figure out how it died.
  - MRSallee 12y ago
    I don't know that it was every common to blow them up. There's a news report from the '70s, widely watched on YouTube, of a whale carcass exploded by dynamite in Oregon. It didn't go well for them.
    - r0muald 12y ago
      You can read more about the “Exploding whale” on Wikipedia, too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whale
bglazer 12y ago
The shots of the whale and ROV together (that I guess are from a camera attached to the tether) are hauntingly beautiful. Here's a couple fun fact about sperm whales: They have the largest brain among all animals living and extinct (17lbs!). Scientists can estimate the size of sperm whales based on analysis of the clicks they generate for echolocation. [1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb04807.x/abstract;jsessionid=36C2A47EFF5709CDF643E230296EDB72.f03t01 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991....
ende 12y ago
Wow, I knew they could hold their breath for awhile but 90 mins? Depths of 3000 feet? Evolution is a poweful optimizer.
- wmeredith 12y ago
  It's had a lot of cycles :)
snowwrestler 12y ago
Interesting to see that the whale seems to have no preferred orientation. When first spotted it is "inverted" (belly up) with respect to the video screen's orientation, and then in the rest of the video it faces all sorts of different directions as it swims near the ROV. Almost all the footage I've seen of whales is near the surface, where they do tend to maintain one "upright" orientation--probably because that it the orientation in which it is easiest for them to breathe. And now that I think about it, most of the footage I can remember of ocean life shares those two characteristics: shot near the surface, and most animals seem to prefer "upright" orientations. When was the last time you saw video of a shark or fish swimming upside down? Wonder if there is a connection there. Maybe the sun? It's pitch black at 2,000 feet. On the other hand, seals and sea lions stay close to the surface and like to swim upside down.
- curtis 12y ago
  Sperm whales sometimes sleep in a vertical position: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale#Sleeping http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale#Sleeping
- classicsnoot 12y ago
  Given the list of enemies of the great cetacean, i bet it has learned to threat assess in 360 degrees. At that depth the danger comes from all sides. Pretty interesting thought though; i wonder if more deep sea footage would show more creatures disregarding my desire to see them swim like airplanes fly...
nosage 12y ago
Amazing, thank you for sharing!
rodrigoavie 12y ago
Wow, thanks for sharing. I wish I could live something like this, didn't even have to be such a rare animal. A humpback whale would do :)
pvaldes 12y ago
This animal seems to be really puzzled by the ROV. Is a male. Young, probably. Literally scanning slowly the machine with his head and wondering what's that thing. A ultrasound recording should give us an burst of clicks. Really nice video, with also some deep-sea plancton. Maybe apendicularia or hydrozoan jellyfishes. I feel really jealous now.

170 points by curtis 12y ago

DyslexicAtheist 12y ago

"video is currently unavailable"

runarberg 12y ago
You can see the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkBpummjR5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkBpummjR5I
- degenerate 12y ago
  Cheesy with the added elevator music. Original link is better :)
andyford 12y ago
rare video indeed

skywhopper 12y ago

I went on a whale-watching cruise last winter, and we were lucky enough that one of the humpbacks came very close to our ship and even went under it close enough to the surface that we could see it clearly. Obviously the crowd of non-scientist tourists who were expecting to just see some flukes and fins off in the distance were oohing and aahing like crazy. It was really thrilling and exciting. So it's heartwarming and hilarious and wonderful to hear exactly the same reactions out of the marine scientists watching this video feed showing this highly curious sperm whale. It's worth watching just to get that buzz of joy.

foz 12y ago

I loved this video not so much for the whale, but because of the audio commentary from the scientists. It's so inspiring to listen to a really great team react to something like that. They clearly work brilliantly together, and with humor.

aaronharnly 12y ago
I'm charmed that they sound about as nerdy and astonished as I and my friends would if dropped into the same situation.
- azinman2 12y ago
  Super nerdy
saganus 12y ago
"...or maybe from a Krrrrraken!" :)
- romankolpak 12y ago
  I thought that was hilarious. But in the video no one laughed which is a shame :(

MRSallee 12y ago

Not to be vulgar, but a dead sperm whale washed up on a beach in Pacifica, Californa on Tuesday, just 15 minutes south of SF. http://flic.kr/p/s7qCvj http://flic.kr/p/s7qCvj

icpmacdo 12y ago
Do they still blow them up?
- Reedx 12y ago
  I was wondering about this too... According to the local news (as of last night) they didn't know how they were going to get rid of it yet. Currently they are performing an autopsy though to try and figure out how it died.
- MRSallee 12y ago
  I don't know that it was every common to blow them up. There's a news report from the '70s, widely watched on YouTube, of a whale carcass exploded by dynamite in Oregon. It didn't go well for them.
  - r0muald 12y ago
    You can read more about the “Exploding whale” on Wikipedia, too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_whale

bglazer 12y ago

The shots of the whale and ROV together (that I guess are from a camera attached to the tether) are hauntingly beautiful. Here's a couple fun fact about sperm whales: They have the largest brain among all animals living and extinct (17lbs!). Scientists can estimate the size of sperm whales based on analysis of the clicks they generate for echolocation. [1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb04807.x/abstract;jsessionid=36C2A47EFF5709CDF643E230296EDB72.f03t01 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991....

ende 12y ago

Wow, I knew they could hold their breath for awhile but 90 mins? Depths of 3000 feet? Evolution is a poweful optimizer.

wmeredith 12y ago
It's had a lot of cycles :)

snowwrestler 12y ago

Interesting to see that the whale seems to have no preferred orientation. When first spotted it is "inverted" (belly up) with respect to the video screen's orientation, and then in the rest of the video it faces all sorts of different directions as it swims near the ROV. Almost all the footage I've seen of whales is near the surface, where they do tend to maintain one "upright" orientation--probably because that it the orientation in which it is easiest for them to breathe. And now that I think about it, most of the footage I can remember of ocean life shares those two characteristics: shot near the surface, and most animals seem to prefer "upright" orientations. When was the last time you saw video of a shark or fish swimming upside down? Wonder if there is a connection there. Maybe the sun? It's pitch black at 2,000 feet. On the other hand, seals and sea lions stay close to the surface and like to swim upside down.

curtis 12y ago
Sperm whales sometimes sleep in a vertical position: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale#Sleeping http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sperm_whale#Sleeping
classicsnoot 12y ago
Given the list of enemies of the great cetacean, i bet it has learned to threat assess in 360 degrees. At that depth the danger comes from all sides. Pretty interesting thought though; i wonder if more deep sea footage would show more creatures disregarding my desire to see them swim like airplanes fly...

nosage 12y ago

Amazing, thank you for sharing!

rodrigoavie 12y ago

Wow, thanks for sharing. I wish I could live something like this, didn't even have to be such a rare animal. A humpback whale would do :)

pvaldes 12y ago

This animal seems to be really puzzled by the ROV. Is a male. Young, probably. Literally scanning slowly the machine with his head and wondering what's that thing. A ultrasound recording should give us an burst of clicks. Really nice video, with also some deep-sea plancton. Maybe apendicularia or hydrozoan jellyfishes. I feel really jealous now.