Lecture from Aarhus University: Hunting with the Ocean's Giants

Whales are the largest animals ever to have lived on Earth - and until just a few years ago, they lived an almost unknown life far from the coast. New technology with drones and suction-cup-mounted measuring equipment now allows researchers to follow whales as they hunt at great depths.

The lecture draws on concrete examples: the harbour porpoise hunting in Danish waters, the sperm whale finding food more than 1,000 metres down, the bowhead whale in Disko Bay, and the humpback whale mother nursing her calf without eating for half a year. Along the way, the lecture also explores whales' role as apex predators and their importance for ocean ecosystems.

The lecture concludes with a look at how humans can live in sustainable coexistence with these animals in a changing world. It is an updated version of a lecture from spring semester 2019, and it is held by Peter Teglbjerg Madsen, professor of sensory physiology at Aarhus University.