Spectacle

Arabian

Bettina Niedermayr, Austria

Journal reference: Wang L, Cheung JT-M, Pu F, Li D, Zhang M, Fan Y (2011) Why Do Woodpeckers Resist Head Impact Injury: A Biomechanical Investigation. PLoS ONE 6(10): e26490. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026490

Incredible Footage from Alaska:

A Drone Caught These Whales Singing as They Fish for Their Lunch

The marine mammals team up to make catching small fish easier.

by Taylor Hill

When humpback whales are plying polar waterways, they’re constantly trying to fill up—sucking down as much as two tons of food a day. They need to pack on the pounds to support their 70,000-pound frame before migrating thousands of miles south to tropical waters to breed.

You’d think that with their massive mouths, humpbacks would search out the biggest fish they could swallow. But no, their diet is primarily made up of tiny shrimp and small fish they filter through their baleen plates.

And with hungry humpbacks on the lookout for the same food supply, you would expect that they would keep their distance from each other.

But take a look at this seagull-view footage, from Alaska’s Prince William Sound, and it’s clear—humpbacks have a strategy all their own when it comes to fishing, and that strategy takes teamwork…

Placid coyote (par David Renwald)

Finalists of winter scenes contest U.S. photographers on Flick 358 contestants who shared over 700 photos.

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