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Humpback whales put on a show for Mass. Environmental Police
Officers received a "warm welcome" from some of the "locals" while patrolling Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Monday.
Massachusetts Environmental Police officers had a friendly encounter with some “locals” while patrolling the mouth of Massachusetts Bay Monday, receiving a “warm welcome” from some of the whales they were there to protect.
In other whale news…
The officers were ensuring boater compliance with whale regulations in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary when they saw humpback whales breaching in the water near their boat, according to an environmental police Facebook post.
The agency shared photos and video of the encounters on social media, documenting the majestic moment.
Environmental police spokesperson Danielle Burney told The Boston Globe that the whales were bubble feeding, a hunting strategy also known as bubble-net feeding. To bubble feed, whales dive below schools of fish and blow bubbles to trap the fish closer to the surface, according to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
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The strategy “is a complex, highly synchronized set of behaviors that involve communication and cooperation, demonstrating signs of high social intelligence,” the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation website notes.
The picture-perfect sighting was “pretty normal” for the officers, Burney told the Globe, noting that they’re on patrol from about April to September and “see a lot of whales.”
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