Researchers at Duke University recorded how long whales stay underwater during dives and made an impressive discovery. Some Cuvier’s beaked whales were capable of exceptionally long dives. While most dives were less than 78 minutes long, one animal performed a dive that lasted more than 3 hours! Interestingly, the recovery times from the dives did not appear to have a clear relationship with the dive duration. Researchers think these animals may either have slow metabolisms, store a lot of oxygen before dives, or they may be able to handle more lactic acid build up than animals that cannot undergo long dive durations. Check out the video:
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Categories: Exercise, Extreme Animals, Ocean Life
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 