An ocean behemoth hunts a big squid in the midnight zone, and she wears its scars. Her echolocation throbbing through the water column, she searches the darkness. Then, just before she makes the kill, she buzzes—a quick series of clicks.
But like many other aspects of their lives, the precise method by which sperm whales catch squid is still unknown. According to Kirsten Young, a marine scientist at the University of Exeter, “they’re slow swimmers.” Squid, however, move quickly. If sperm whales can only go at 3 knots, 5.5 km/h, or 3.5 mph, how are they supposed to capture squid? Do the squid actually move?.
Or are the whales’ vocalizations mesmerizing them? What takes place beneath that? Really, nobody knows “she says.
Studying sperm whales is a difficult task. The majority of their lives are spent hunting or foraging in areas that are shaded from the sun. They can hold their breath for up to two hours and dive over three kilometers (ten thousand feet).
