New Zealand scientists have described spectacular rare footage of a minke whale gliding through icy Antarctic waters as a "lucky shot" while trialling new video technology in the field.
University of Canterbury marine mammal expert Dr Regina Eisert said she could not believe the footage her team captured on their recent trip to Antarctica.
“The whole whale glides past – this is such a lucky shot,” she said.
It's possible that this was the first time a minke whale has been filmed underwater ... in the Ross Sea, Dr Eisert said.
The team was excited about the footage as they were trying out a new underwater camera prototype and assumed nothing had been captured on film, she said.
"The plan was to film continuously across the icebreaker channel.
"The water’s so clear, you can see right across the 50-80 m lane and monitor all the whales that use the channel."
The system had only recorded a few hours of footage due to teething issues with the new camera technology, Dr Eisert said.
We had no idea that anything was captured on camera until it was checked back in Christchurch, she said.
Dr Eisert and her team were in Antarctica researching killer whales.
Despite not being the subject of her research programme, Dr Eisert's team still photographed and took skin samples from minke whales passing by, she said.
"We can learn so much from a small tissue sample.
"Little is known about their precise role in the ecosystem."
