Humpack Whale Throat Inflated in Competitive Group

This is part of competitive heat run with at least 14 humpback whales, far, far out in the open ocean. The seas were rough, and whales spread out over a large area. Pictured here is one whale down deep in the process of inflating his throat. This is often a precursor to blowing a stream of bubbles as a dominance display. In this instance, however, this whale was not the primary escort, and it eventually deflated its throat instead of blowing bubbles. Why it inflated and then deflated is not clear.

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Contained in galleries: Humpback Whales Underwater

This is part of competitive heat run with at least 14 humpback whales, far, far out in the open ocean. The seas were rough, and whales spread out over a large area. Pictured here is one whale down deep in the process of inflating his throat. This is often a precursor to blowing a stream of bubbles as a dominance display. In this instance, however, this whale was not the primary escort, and it eventually deflated its throat instead of blowing bubbles. Why it inflated and then deflated is not clear.