Nature · 3
Bubble-net feeding in humpback whales is a cooperative behaviour. What role do the whales that remain BELOW the fish school typically perform?
Answer
They blow the continuous stream of bubbles that forms the rising cylindrical curtain trapping the fish
In coordinated bubble-net hunts, designated 'bubble blowers' swim in a tightening spiral beneath the fish school, exhaling through their blowholes to produce a rising curtain of bubbles. This cylindrical wall of bubbles acts as a net, preventing the fish from swimming outward while other whales lunge upward through the concentrated prey.
💡 Did you know?
Humpback whales create 'bubble nets' by swimming in circles below fish schools, then breach through the center to feast on thousands at once.
Other options people guess
- They emit loud trumpet calls to disorient and scatter the fish outward before the net closes
- They circle rapidly at depth to generate an upwelling current that physically lifts the fish toward the surface
- They position themselves as a physical barrier beneath the school to prevent the fish from diving to escape
Topics
- humpback-whale
- cooperative-hunting
- marine-mammals
- feeding-behaviour
Know your nature trivia?
Play a free Nature quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.
More Nature facts
Nature
What technique do humpback whales use to herd fish into a concentrated mass before lunging upward to feed?
Humpback whales create 'bubble nets' by swimming in circles below fish schools, then breach through the center to feast on thousands at once.
Nature
Which marine mammals have been observed in studies to respond selectively when they hear their own signature whistle played back to them?
Dolphins name each other with unique whistles and answer when called by their individual 'name' across miles of open ocean.
Nature
Unlike air-breathing divers, how do deep-sea squid and fish near the Dumbo octopus's habitat withstand crushing water pressure?
Dumbo octopuses live deeper than Mount Everest is tall, yet squid and fish in the same zone survive crushing pressures using only seawater.
Nature
What distinctive hunting strategy does the Venus flytrap use to avoid wasting energy closing on raindrops or windblown debris?
The Venus flytrap can count — it tallies trigger-hair touches to decide whether to close, how tightly to seal, and when to release digestive enzymes, all without a nervous system.
Nature
Female fireflies in which genus are known to mimic the flash patterns of other firefly species in order to lure and eat the males?
Fireflies flash in species-specific patterns—wrong timing or color means no mate. Some predatory fireflies mimic other species to lure and eat them.
Nature
Which of these fruits meets the strict botanical definition of a 'true berry'?
Bananas are berries, but strawberries aren't. A berry develops from a single flower's ovary; strawberries develop from multiple ovaries of one flower.