Great luck: Antarctic minke whales filmed from a drone near the "Akademik Vernadsky" station
Kyiv • UNN
Ukrainian scientists have recorded a video of an Antarctic minke whale - a whale that swims to the "Akademik Vernadsky" station for the summer. These whales are maneuverable, so they are difficult to study.
Ukrainian scientists working in Antarctica published a drone video of an Antarctic minke whale - a whale that is common in the area of the Ukrainian station "Academic Vernadsky". This is reported by UNN.
Details
Researchers said that this whale is one of the smallest of the baleen whale family. Its length is 7-9 meters, very rarely some individuals reach 10 m. Weight - up to 10 tons, but mostly ranges around 5-6 tons. Females are slightly larger than males.
The species is found in all oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. It usually arrives to the icy continent for the Antarctic summer to feed on krill
According to them, for the winter, the Antarctic minke whale sails north, to warmer waters for breeding. At the same time, some individuals may overwinter in Antarctica.
This whale usually moves quickly between the ice floes, showing only its back with a characteristic fin, by which it can be recognized from afar. This fin is crescent-shaped, rounded and pointed at the same time
Researchers emphasize that due to such maneuverability, the Antarctic minke whale is quite difficult to study: to record a meeting with it, and even more so to measure it or take biopsies - a great success.
Let us remind you
Recently, Ukrainian polar explorers witnessed one of the subantarctic penguins stealing stones from someone else's nest. Interestingly, the active period of nest building in subantarctic penguins living near Vernadsky takes place in the Antarctic spring (when it is autumn in Ukraine).