A feeding aggregation of Omura‘s whale, Balaenoptera omurai, off Nosy Be, Mozambique Channel

Abstract

A feeding aggregation of Omura’s whales, Balaenoptera omurai, was documented off Nosy Be Island at the northeastern entrance of the Mozambique Channel in November 1994. Underwater photographs of live individuals illustrated sub-surface skimming as the main feeding behaviour, with small crustaceans, small jellyfish and other gelatinous micronecton identified as prey. A precise description of the whales’ pigmentation patterns completes previous descriptions from the recent literature.