Humpback whales join the list of animals known to make and use tools

Humpback whales have joined the list of animals that not only use but also manufacture their own tools.

A new study conducted off the coast of Alaska has found that Humpbacks are a part of the exclusive list of animals creating their tools.

Humpback whales are now known to make and use their own tools

Marine biologists have known before that humpbacks create “bubble nets” to hunt, however, researchers have now found that the giants of the oceans can manipulate and alter these nets in a variety of ways to maximise their effectiveness. 

In an impressive strategic hunting method, humpback whales can create traps using intense sounds (as loud as a rocket launch) while circling a shoal of fish, only to force them to the surface where the whales have created a bubble ring to entrap the fish, reading for the herd to feast. This method takes cooperation between the whales, usually needing three or four to complete the mission. 

A new study reveals the adapted hunting methods of humpback whales

In a study conducted in southeast Alaska, scientists followed and observed solitary humpback whales that blow and craft complex bubbles to catch krill.  

In previously documented cases, whales will blow bubbles in patterns that form nets with ‘eternal’ rings, like the method previously described. 

New research has now revealed that the mammals can actively control details of the bubble nets including the number of rings, the size and depth of the net and the spacing between the bubbles, adjusting the hunting method for each case scenario. 

Solitary humpback whales manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

Lars Bejder, an author of the study, published on Tuesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science, stating, “Many animals use tools to help them find food but very few actually create or modify the tools themselves.”

Dr Bejder explains that altering the approach that is “wholly unique” to humpbacks, allows the whales to capture upwards of seven times more prey in a single feeding dive, with no extra energy expelled. 

“This impressive behaviour places humpback whales among the rare group of animals that both make and their own tools for hunting,” explained Lars

Other animals featured on this list include our close relatives, chimpanzees, as well as gorillas, crows, dolphins and octopuses. 

For the humpbacks, as with many in the animal kingdom, the ability to hunt effectively is key, and to be able to do it efficiently with minimal energy use can drastically benefit the animal, which in this case depends entirely on the brief seasonal period to eat enough food to survive the rest of the year. 

For instance, humpback whales need enough energy to sustain themselves through migration periods traversing the vast ocean routes. 

Unfortunately, external factors such as climate change affecting numbers of prey can mean the whales don’t get enough feed, which can be seen in the rising numbers of whales washing up on beaches.

Whales and cetaceans are difficult to study in detail

Additionally, whales and their cetacean cousins like dolphins and porpoises have been hard for researchers to study, making it difficult to record the effects of pressing threats including climate change, habitat degradation or chemical pollution. 

Another author of the same study, William Gough, explained this stating “Whales are a difficult group to study, requiring skill and precision to successfully tag and drone them.”

To study these humpbacks, Gough describes “We deployed non-invasive suction-cup tags on whales and flew drones over solitary bubble-netting humpback whales in southeast Alaska, collecting data on their underwater movements.”

Due to the high number of the 92 known cetacean species facing the risk of extinction, researchers and marine biologists hope to learn new conservation strategies and ways of supporting the survival of these mammals. 

Studying mammal behaviours can help support their survival

Since hunting is key to survival, studying these hunting methods and patterns can help better understand the behaviour and conserve the feeding grounds. 

Andy Szabo, a co-author of the study, expressed his excitement about studying the whales and his optimism surrounding the mammals:

“What I find exciting is that humpbacks have come up with complex tools allowing them to exploit prey aggregations that otherwise would be unavailable to them”, adding that “It is this behavioural flexibility and ingenuity that I hope will serve these whales well as our oceans continue to change.”

The researchers continue to study more of the humpback whales feeding behaviours, including cooperate bubble-netting, surface feeding and deep lunge feeding.