Beaked whales dive record 6,230 feet

Boston, WA

Beaked whales, one of the least-known families of the large mammals, dived a record 6,230 feet and held their breath for 85 minutes, U.S. zoologists report.

The epic dives "constitute the deepest confirmed dives reported from any air-breathing animal," scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts said.

The researchers -- part of an international study that also included researchers from Spain, Italy and Denmark -- said the dives' depth easily beat the previous record of 4,000 feet by the sperm whale, The Times of London reports.

"These two beaked whale species make long, very deep dives to find food, and then make shallow dives and rest near the surface," Peter Tyack of Woods Hole said.

In contrast to better-studied sperm whales and elephant seals, "We think that beaked whales return to the surface after deep dives with an oxygen debt and need to recover before their next deep dive," he said.

The study was first reported in The Journal of Experimental Biology.
Source: © UPI