Key points
- During the latest 30th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition (UAE) at the “Akademik Vernadsky” station, a humpback whale amazed polar researchers with over 50 consecutive jumps.
- The whale displayed different types of jumps: full rotations, partial body breaches, and side jumps.
- The observation lasted around an hour and was captured on photo and drone video.
- The researchers documented the whale’s tail for inclusion in the global database.
During the latest 30th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition (UAE) at the “Akademik Vernadsky” station, polar researchers witnessed an extraordinary spectacle. A humpback whale, which the team encountered south of Galindez Island, performed over 50 consecutive jumps.
That day, the team set out in two boats south of the island to carry out scientific tasks in the area of the Burselot and Darbu Islands, where they conducted a biopsy on one of the whale groups. On the return journey, the polar researchers came across two more humpbacks, and one of them began jumping continuously.
During the wintering, we were fortunate to constantly observe cetaceans – humpbacks, fin whales, and orcas. But this encounter is something we will remember for life! The whale made over fifty consecutive jumps – none of us had ever seen anything like it.
– Zoya Shvydka, biologist of the 30th UAE.
The biologist noted that the humpback displayed different types of jumps:
- full jumps, when the animal rotates around its axis in the air;
- partial jumps, when only part of the body breaches;
- and side jumps.
The observation lasted about an hour, during which the team captured the events on photos and drone video. In addition to the “show,” the polar researchers carried out scientific work, documenting the whale’s tail for entry into the global database.
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