How do whales sleep? Mystery solved as photographer captures an incredibly rare shot of a pod of whales snoozing vertically
An underwater photographer has captured a rare set of images which capture a pod of sleeping whales.
Franco Banfi caught the magnificent creatures around 65ft underwater as well as his partner, free diver Sabrina, just off the coast of the Caribbean island Dominica.
The 40ft long sperm whales, known to be quite social, spend around seven per cent of their time sleeping and nap vertically for six to 25 minutes - in this case it was ten.
Mr Banfi, from Cadro, Switzerland, said: 'This was a group of around ten sperm whales all sleeping together.
'I don't know why they sleep vertically, maybe because they can use the sonar they have in their head to sense any danger approaching.'
He added: 'I was very lucky to see such a great moment in nature, and I'm thankful the whales trusted me and gave me the opportunity to attend the show. It doesn't happen like that every time you see them.'
(Mail Online)
這是一條科普貼:鯨魚是怎麼睡覺的?攝影師為你揭秘
鯨魚會不會睡覺呢?好吧,雖然這是一個很冷門的問題,但是突然被問起來還是真的很難回答。不過直到最近,終於有人拍到了這些大塊頭抹香鯨睡覺的證據。
專業水下攝影師Franco Banfi最近就在多米尼加島的加勒比海域裡拍到了這罕見的一幕。一隊抹香鯨遊過的時候突然停住,然後集體進入垂直的沉睡狀態。
據相關研究稱,這種集體進入睡眠的情況在抹香鯨一生中發生的頻率很低,每次沉睡的時間只有6-24分鐘左右。
當然,什麼都沒有直觀的圖片更有震撼力。不得不說,真的好像在看深海水怪大片一樣的感覺,超級震撼!
(來源:鴯鶓動物園微博)
Louder voice, broader vision.