[News]: Scientists can't figure out how whales catch squid - Xinhua

octobot;97257 said:
Scientists can't figure out how whales catch squid
[SIZE=-1]Xinhua, China - 47 minutes ago[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhuanet) -- When it comes to catching squid, which have a keen sense of smell, very good eyesight, and can squirt dark ink to hide their ...[/SIZE]


More...

Interesting article... I was fascinated when I read about the "ultrasonic blast" theory some years back, but I've also always had at least one major doubt: if sperm whales were blasting squid-killing noise, we'd know... sonar, sensitive microphones, and the like have been a staple of marine research and are well-studied, and I'm sure that any loud sounds involved in whale hunting have been picked up. It would, however, be useful to find out if there is any cold war submarine sonar "catalog of whale noises" that's been declassified or anything.

One thing that I found appealing about the sperm whale sonic blast is that it was put forth as a purpose for the big oil-filled cavity in the whale's head... Wikipedia claims it's also used for buoyancy control by changing the density of the oil as it changes from solid (when flooded with cold seawater) to liquid (at the whale's body temp)-- this seems pretty wacky to me, since expending all that energy to re-heat the oil seems like a rather slow process (and somewhat costly, although the whale has to maintain its body temp in cold water anyway).
 
[News]: Scientists can't figure out how whales catch squid - Mathaba.Net

Scientists can't figure out how whales catch squid
[SIZE=-1]Mathaba.Net, UK - Jun 29, 2007[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]When it comes to catching squid, which have a keen sense of smell, very good eyesight, and can squirt dark ink to hide their escape, humans could learn a ...[/SIZE]


More...
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top