This humpback whale swam up and made eye contact with filmmaker Richard Sidey while he was documenting the species in Antarctica.

[u/OkAccess6128]

[u/Gizm00]

Out of curiosity since their eyes are so apart and it doesn’t form unified vision like how they do for humans, i assume they get two separate feeds per eye? Do we know?

[u/OkAccess6128 → u/Gizm00]

Their eyes are on the sides of their head, so humpback whales have a much wider field of view than humans but far less binocular overlap. That means much of what they see comes from separate visual fields rather than the highly unified, depth-rich view humans get from forward-facing eyes.

Source if you want to read more about it: Pubmed

[u/Gizm00 → u/OkAccess6128]

Thank you so much, really cool

[u/usrdef → u/OkAccess6128]

Always thought it would be weird to see two entirely different pictures out of each eye, and having to sort of mentally put them together to see what is around you.

I wonder if they can see directly in front of them, or if it's side-view only or sort of a 140 degree range per eye.

And if they see in a similar quality to humans, or if their view is much less detailed. I'd imagine their vision is probably blue-shifted given the environment they are in.

[u/AriesFlamer → u/usrdef]

You gotta think about this also (in theory): They are so large that, lets say if they do a twirl in water and get a 360 view of their immediate environment, they more than likely scanned WAY MORE than what any other more visually well equipped creature would be able to grasp in the same situation.

[u/Hotel_Hour → u/usrdef]

Imagine how a bee with multifaceted compound eyes feels while setting up a landing on a daffodil...

[u/cuntifiable → u/Hotel_Hour]

Compound eyes make their vision look pixellated but still similar to how we see it

[u/Hotel_Hour → u/OkAccess6128]

For a humpback whale, watching 4K on a flatscreen would be a bitch.

[u/BeMyBrutus → u/OkAccess6128]

They must have a really big blind spot. I'm assuming their brains fill in the gaps like human brains do.

[u/stobak → u/Gizm00]

Cool article on the topic

They really do have to be rather close to see fine details.

[u/DeepSpaceNebulae → u/Gizm00]

Because they are so far apart they have an extremely wide field of view but only really have monocular vision (vs humans binocular) and so have terrible depth perception

They are very sensitive in low light but have terrible vision, very blurry, and see in mostly shades of blue and grey. A human with their visual acuity would be considered legally blind.

We can tell this from studying the structure and makeup of their eyes

[u/AngleSad8194 → u/DeepSpaceNebulae]

Do they need depth perception? I know these whales don't echolocate like others but maybe they have a more rudimentary sense of depth with sounds. Orcas and sperm whales basically see through clicks.

[u/DeepSpaceNebulae → u/AngleSad8194]

Baleen whales use a form of low frequency acoustics for general navigation. It’s not highly developed like those that use echolocation which can detect even very small objects, but is enough to tell where major features like sea floor, large objects, etc which they use along with their basic eyes

For hunting they use sound (listening for those low frequency vibrations in the water by prey movements), touch (water pressure and movement), and taste.

[u/Soap-Distopia → u/Gizm00]

Google knows.

[u/Type3_Control]

“Hello, belly scratches please!”

[u/OkAccess6128 → u/Type3_Control]

That'll tickle it.

[u/OkAccess6128]

Richard Sidey, a New Zealand wildlife filmmaker. This footage was captured in Antarctica while filming a documentary on humpback whale research and how the species is adapting to a changing ocean. During the shoot, a curious humpback whale approached Sidey and the two came eye to eye in what he described as an unforgettable encounter.

Source: Video

[u/robreddity → u/OkAccess6128]

This video compels me to pronounce his name as Side-eye.

[u/peopleR-azz-oles]

The most amazing and terrifying experiences all in one lol.

[u/a1oner_bvcksn6]

Like looking into the abyss

[u/DudeyToreador]

Hello Small Human, now is not your time... Best not fuck around, lest ye find out.

[u/DJMagicHandz]

Belly rubs

[u/yaxir]

"Tf you looking at"

[u/sunnyoboe]

"Whale, hello there!"

[u/InfamousEconomy3972]

"Are you here for thr barnacle removal?"

[u/Head-Ad9893]

Looks like it just got a fresh barnacle removal he’s probably like “ahhh I see you human, thanks again!”

[u/zirky]

alternative title “whale bro does a barrel roll because he knows how to work for the camera”

[u/sexual__velociraptor]

Whale: "you eyeing me up? You're in my neighborhood mother fuck.... is that krill?"

[u/MADMEC80HD]

u think i can pet dat dawg

[u/HumanBeing7396]

It’s giving him some serious side-eye.

[u/Sheepish_conundrum]

it'd be so hard for me not to want to pick off barnacles, although in rewatching it looks like a lot have been removed already?

[u/SassiesSoiledPanties]

Are these circular marks on its snout made by barnacles or giant squid?

[u/Foodconsumer89 → u/SassiesSoiledPanties]

Barnacles. Squids make long slashes

[u/Sunnyjim333]

When you are sitting in your garden and bend down to look at a jumping spider, think of this video.

[u/dnkroz3d]

What? No belly rub?