This absolutely superb footage of feeding fin whales was captured off the Catalan coast for the first time by conservationist using a drone camera.
The video above shows two adult fin whales rising to the surface, turning on their sides and speeding up while opening their vast mouths to catch tons of water.
The water swells their bodies from the jaw to middle section, then they close their mouths and expel the water through their baleen plate, filtering out food which they can then swallow. Within seconds, the body returns to its usual slender form.
Some scientists have speculated that fin whales circle schools of fish with the white side facing the prey and frightening them into denser schools that are easier for the whale to catch. The fin whale, like other baleen whales, strains its food from the water through baleen plates.
Next to the blue whale, the fin whale is the second largest mammal in the world. They have a distinct ridge along their back behind the dorsal fin, which gives it the nickname “razorback.” Fin whales have a very unusual feature: the lower right jaw is bright white and the lower left jaw is black.
The area of the Mediterranean between the Catalan coast and the Balearic Islands is a popular feeding ground for fin whales, normally during springtime.
As well as recording the drone footage, the group spotted a pod of ten whales feeding in the same area.
