Drone Captures Rare Images Of Killer Whales
- 10 years ago
A rare view of the day-to-day lives of killer whales has been made possible by a drone.
A rare view of the day-to-day lives of killer whales has been made possible by a drone.
The initiative was the result of a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Vancouver Aquarium.
Researchers watched as the unmanned air vehicle followed families of orcas traveling in the Johnstone Strait off the coast of British Columbia.
They witnessed some frolicking, a lot of swimming, and, unfortunately, two deaths.
Those deaths were linked to an extreme loss of body fat, one of the issues the scientists were particularly interested in exploring.
Through their observations they were able to determine that killer whales are very good at hiding debilitating weight decline until its late stages.
Initially, they fill in depleted areas by taking on extra water.
There does come a point, however, when the malnourishment can no longer be masked.
Researchers also observed that when a whale is lost, it’s noticed and quite possibly communicated by other members of the group.
The drone-enabled study yielded approximately 30 thousand photographs of nearly 80 whales.
A rare view of the day-to-day lives of killer whales has been made possible by a drone.
The initiative was the result of a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Vancouver Aquarium.
Researchers watched as the unmanned air vehicle followed families of orcas traveling in the Johnstone Strait off the coast of British Columbia.
They witnessed some frolicking, a lot of swimming, and, unfortunately, two deaths.
Those deaths were linked to an extreme loss of body fat, one of the issues the scientists were particularly interested in exploring.
Through their observations they were able to determine that killer whales are very good at hiding debilitating weight decline until its late stages.
Initially, they fill in depleted areas by taking on extra water.
There does come a point, however, when the malnourishment can no longer be masked.
Researchers also observed that when a whale is lost, it’s noticed and quite possibly communicated by other members of the group.
The drone-enabled study yielded approximately 30 thousand photographs of nearly 80 whales.