Humpback whales are able to pass on hunting techniques to
each other, just as humans do, new research has found.
A team of researchers, led by the University of St Andrews,
has discovered that a new feeding technique has spread to 40 per cent of a
humpback whale population.
The findings are published today (Thursday 25 April) by the
journal Science.
The community of humpback whales off New England, USA, was
forced to find new prey after herring stocks – their preferred food - crashed
in the early 1980s.