Imperial Cormorant's 150 Feet Deep Dive Underwater Captured on Film
Posted on August 1, 2012
A team of researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National Research Council of Argentina fitted a South American sea bird called an imperial cormorant with a small camera. The researchers were stunned as they watched the cormorant dive 150 feet underwater in just 40 seconds. The bird searched the ocean floor for 80 seconds where it eventually caught a snakelike fish and returned to the surface 40 seconds later.
The footage shows the cormorant briefly on the surface before diving for the bottom. The camera is attached to the bird's back, so the view is of its head as it pumps its feet to swim deeper. When it finally reaches the ocean floor, it explores a vast area searching for food. It eventually finds an elongated fish, which it brings to the surface to eat.
The footage is from Punta Leon in Patagonia, Argentina, a coastal protected area supporting more than 3.500 pairs of imperial cormorants. A WCS scientific team, led by Dr. Flavio Quintana, has been studying the cormorants' feeding behavior for the past ten years. The team was joined by Dr. Carlos Zavalaga along with Ken Yoda from the University of Nogoya, Japan to fit the camera on the bird. Take a look:
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