I don't know if this link has been posted elsewhere .... I just stumbled upon it. Sensational stuff!! I've posted the link here because of the cetacean interest online (and, of course, because these animals eat squid and octopus .... and are just soooo cool .... and because imagery like this is so extremely rare!).

click wow-wow-wow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHdJIIxpTnU&search=sperm%20whale#comment)

video wouldn't play in opera i'll try it in firefox. Ok that worked very very cool video. If only the whale was chasing an archi........

That is cool.

Yes, that's a good one, that. I've got a few others from the GOM as well, generally not as deep as that one but very interesting. I would post them, but they belong to the oil companies so i don't think that would go down too well. Happens quite a bit apparently.....

What i find amazing is how they can move so precisely and gracefully, just stopping in the water and rolling around, and they're obviously very interested in the ROVs and clearly like to rub against them.

We've actually incorporated this idea into the oceans series.....

You can tell the camera person freaked when he realized what it was! Awesome video!

Wow, very impressive!

Really neat, any idea what type of whale it was? Pygmy Sperm Whale, Dwarf Sperm Whale?

Very cool ! Have to love those beasties...

That was amazing! Just look at the size of him!!

woah! Great vid, but what's that yellow rig thing?

Really neat video......I'd also like to know what that structure is. The whale definitely seems interested.

Looked sperm whale-ish to me, but the video didn't really show too many features. Great video for 1000 m depth! Oh, and is it just me or does it look like the yellowish structure was on or at least near the bottom? Thats pretty surprising, and very cool!

Cheers!

Yes, that's a good one, that. I've got a few others from the GOM as well, generally not as deep as that one but very interesting. I would post them, but they belong to the oil companies so i don't think that would go down too well. Happens quite a bit apparently.....
:shock: Yup, I'll be in touch!!

wow...

chris

yeah... that would be a sperm whale I believe. awesome video!!!

...you could briefly see the distinctive long narrow jaw. The flippers also I've noticed tend to be a good giveaway. They're so cute and stubby-looking, whereas the flukes are quite a bit broader than one would expect for a cetacean that size.

The whale definitely seems interested.
Now here's something that should be looked at... is it possible that the structures we're plonking on the seabed act as F.A.D. (Fish Attraction Devices) or artificial reefs. Upon typing this, i'm thinking "duh! of course they do!" but i wonder if any scientist has looked at the positive effects of those things in the deep sea... from hard substrate for sessile organisms to de facto protection from bottom trawling (i doubt the big companies who put those things on the seabed would be very happy if it all gets crushed by steel rollers). Man, that would be a wonderful project! I believe there is a enormous amount of video footage used for inspection only but that could be requested for a study like that. Besides i'm sure the owners of underwater structures would relish the eco-friendly tag such work is likely to yield... Been having the same thoughts about marinas and their role as nursery grounds for coastal species... I'll be quiet now, might hurt myself thinking too much...

TP:yinyang:TH

:shock:

WOW.

I'd love to know just how that whale could so precisely judge when it needed to pull out of the dive: looks like it's got a scant few feet between itself and the mud. Wonder if it was visual cues or echolocatory ones that it was keying on.

They ought to stick hydrophones and simple sonar receivers on those rigs...might pick up a squidstunning pulse or two. (Wonder what that would sound/feel like.)

TPOTH, those are interesting thoughts about deep-sea structures as F.A.Ds.

Cheers,
Clem