Blue Whales Are Mostly 'Left-Handed'
Transcript
Blue whales dive and twirl as they feed in the ocean.
But they don’t perform these movements at random.
Just as humans can be right-handed or left-handed,blue whales show a preference in the direction that they spin.
Scientists attached accelerometers on 63 blue whales.
The data showed that in shallow water where krill are less dense, a whale would turn left so its right eye points upward at its prey.
As with most animals, a whale’s right eye is connected to the brain’s left hemisphere.
By using its left brain, a whale is able to focus more on spotting krill.
This focus is necessary in shallow water since it requires more effort to feed where krill are less dense.