# Shh! the Whales are sleeping. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440 "2017-07-16T22:42:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/1 "2017-07-16T22:42:05Z")
I’ve never seen a photo of Whales sleeping before. I would have assumed they just floated on the surface. I had it completely wrong. I wonder what he means by 65ft depth? Which end of the whale? If it’s the head then that means the tail is at 105 ft. Pretty awesome photo. > **[Photographer's rare shot of a pod of whales snoozing vertically](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-4700766/Franco-Banfi-captures-sperm-whales-sleeping-vertically.html)** > > Franco Banfi, 58, caught the magnificent creatures around 65ft underwater as well as his partner, free diver Sabrina, 51, just off the coast of the Caribbean island Dominica. > [@](#): > > Franco Banfi, 58, caught the magnificent creatures around 65ft underwater as well as his partner, free diver Sabrina, 51, just off the coast of the Caribbean island Dominica. > > The 40ft long sperm whales, known to be quite social, spend around seven per cent of their time sleeping and nap vertically for six to 25 minutes - in this case it was ten. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/2 "2017-07-16T22:56:53Z")
For perspective. Imagine 4 story office buildings. That’s about 40 ft, if the ceilings are 8 ft. The photo doesn’t fully capture the grandeur of these magnificent creatures. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/3 "2017-07-17T00:06:39Z")
Do they only turn off part of their brain while sleeping, or do I have that confused with some other marine mammals? -in any case, thanks for posting. Fantastic shots. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/4 "2017-07-17T03:06:45Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > For perspective. > Imagine 4 story office buildings. That’s about 40 ft, if the ceilings are 8 ft. More in shape like a standard city bus, floating front end up. Great photos. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/5 "2017-07-17T03:53:19Z")
You’re correct. A up-ended bus is a better visual for size. A photo as they awoke would have been interesting. I guess the water gets pretty rough with that much movement. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/6 "2017-07-17T11:58:08Z")
A-whim-a-whep, a-whim-a-whep… ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/7 "2017-07-17T13:38:58Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > You’re correct. A up-ended bus is a better visual for size. > > A photo as they awoke would have been interesting. I guess the water gets pretty rough with that much movement. You expected to see photos of undersea water turbulence? What do you think that looks like? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/8 "2017-07-17T13:43:05Z")
I’d expect the photographer and friend to be concerned about their safety. I wouldn’t want to be close by when several tons of Whales wakes up. They didn’t explain why no photos or video were taken as the whales woke up. I’d expect that they’d all return to their normal horizontal position and move away. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shh-the-whales-are-sleeping/791440/9 "2017-07-17T16:50:16Z")
SCUBA divers have to actively manage their buoyancy because buoyancy has negative stability. Suppose for example you’re 50 feet under water, and you’ve inflated your buoyancy compensation vest to the point where you achieve neutral buoyancy, tending neither to ascend nor descend. Now imagine some little bit of turbulence, a fish fart, creates a tiny current that pushes you downward a smidge. The greater pressure on you at your new depth compresses the air in your vest just a bit, reducing your buoyancy, so you start to sink a little faster. You go deeper, your vest gets compressed a bit more, your buoyancy decreases even more, your speed increases. If you don’t do something (add air to your vest, take a deep breath to fill your lungs, or kick with your fins), the process will continue until you are descending at a problematic pace. The same process can take you in the other direction, resulting in an uncontrolled ascent if you don’t let some air out of your vest (or get upside-down and kick with your fins). Without direct action from the diver, things can go from fine to “uh-oh” in well under a minute. So what’s the deal on these whales? How are they “sleeping” and yet maintaining their depth for up to 25 minutes? 😕 > [@aceplace57](#): > > I’d expect the photographer and friend to be concerned about their safety. I wouldn’t want to be close by when several tons of Whales wakes up. This. [Not sperm whales in this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynfvv0qg-zE&t=1m19s), but you get the idea. :eek: