A Little Quirk to the Massive Mammal
Because the Omura’s whale is a new and endangered species, not much is known about it. But one amusing thing that researchers have discovered is their feeding patterns. Based on studies from Madagascar, it appears that whales there have a filtering mechanism that “filters out” small plankton and fish eggs that are invisible to the human eye. Although we’re not entirely clear why this is important just yet, it’s a lovely little characteristic of this enormous creature.
Location, Location, Location
The location has also been brought up as a question. The sightings have all so far occurred in the Indian Ocean, although they are still dispersed over various coastlines and nations. Do the Omura’s whales found in Madagascar, Iran, and Sri Lanka have anything in common? During her interview with National Geographic, de Vos raised a further query about their geographic location. It would be different if this species resided in the deep sea, but all available information from Sri Lanka and Madagascar indicates that it favors shallow shelf waters, which are often visited by humans. Imagine what else we are losing out on if we are ignoring these titans.”