Humpback Whales Seen Blowing ‘Bubble Rings’ Near Boats: A New Form of Communication?

Fast Summary

• humpback whales are known to use bubbles for varied behaviors,including courtship displays and bubble-netting for feeding.
• Researchers from UC Davis and the SETI Institute documented humpbacks creating doughnut-shaped vortex bubbles (“bubble rings”) in oceans across the globe.
• 12 such events involved 11 individual whales producing a total of 39 bubble rings. Some instances showed whales blowing a bubble ring and interacting with it,such as swimming through or performing “spy hops.”
• The researchers hypothesize the bubble ring phenomenon could represent playfulness, curiosity about humans, or possibly an attempt at interaction. Nine out of twelve events involved closer proximity to human observers before blowing rings.
• there is speculation that these behaviors might potentially be crafted intentionally for humans as whale behavior appears triggered by their presence, but scientists emphasize the need for more data to understand these rarities fully.

Image Caption: A still image from video shows humpback whale “Kараул/Watchtower” producing a doughnut-shaped bubble ring off Lahaina, Maui in 2020 (Molly Gaughan).

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