The blue whale is the biggest animal on Earth, so you might think that it's easy for them to find a meal. Unfortunately, their favorite food happens to be krill, one of Earth's smallest animals.
That makes dinner time a little bit more complicated for these gentle behemoths.
Now researchers at Oregon State have been able to get a unique perspective on this activity, with the use of a drone. As we've noted before, drones are particularly useful in observing animals, and even gathering samples in the case of humpback whales.
One great insight from drone footage is just how picky these guys are. If you're an animal as big as a blue whale, gaining momentum takes a lot of energy, and if you open your mouth to grab a bite, it's going to seriously slow you down. The result is that you have to be pretty sure that it's going to be worth it. As you can see in the video below, some patches of krill just aren't worth the effort.
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