The NASC noted that the team of the 30th UAE is completing its work at the Antarctic station “Akademik Vernadsky”, so its participants are making their final trips to the ocean to complete tasks.
That day, polar explorers and polar explorers in two boats set off south of Galindez Island, where the Ukrainian station is located, the report noted. One crew worked between the Bercelot and Darboux island group. There we managed to meet a group of humpback whales and take a biopsy.
Returning back, the team saw two more humpback whales. Biologists were preparing to conduct research, and suddenly one of the whales began to jump.
“During the winter, we were lucky to constantly observe cetaceans – humpback whales, minke whales, killer whales. But we will definitely remember this meeting for the rest of our lives! The whale made more than fifty jumps in a row. None of us have ever seen this before,” said Zoya Shvydkaya, biologist of the 30th AE.
According to her, the humpback whale managed to demonstrate different types of jumps: full, when the animal turns around its axis in the air, and partial, when the whale jumps with only part of its body, and sideways jumps.
“Everything lasted about an hour, during which we took both photos and video from the drone. Perhaps the “show” would have lasted longer, but we had to return to the station,” the scientist said.
Context
The Ukrainian Antarctic station “Akademik Vernadsky” is located on Galindez Island. Previously, it belonged to Great Britain and was called “Faraday”. On February 6, 1996, the station was transferred to Ukraine and renamed.
The station conducts scientific research on climate change, the ozone hole, and the response of animals and plants to warming.
