Humpback whale lunge-feeding wall print

These humpbacks off south-eastern Alaska were hunting co-operatively, probably for shoals of capelin or herring. They were performing their 'bubble-net' feeding technique, used exclusively by humpbacks. This involves around five to eight whales diving below the prey.

Then, by spiralling and blowing bubbles through their blowholes, they form a circular 'net' of bubbles that the fish can't pass through. From the surface, all you can see is a huge ring of rising bubbles, up to 45 metres across, and then hundreds of tonnes of humpbacks surging upwards, open-mouthed.