I had been following a pod of sperm whales off the north coast of the island of Faial in the Azores and dived with one young male about 6 to 7 metres in length. I saw him again four hours later and as I entered the water, I realized that he was eating something. He certainly had a mouthful as a large squid mantle overhung both sides of his lower jaw. This was my fifth year of diving with sperm whales in the Azores but my first opportunity to observe a whale eating first hand.
He firstly swam past with the meal firmly clamped in his jaws, but then rolled over and swam underneath me as he began to consume the squid. It wasn't exactly an elegant process. Firstly he had to disgorge the squid which was lodged in his throat and then he chewed it with convulsive motion. The water was soon littered with bits and pieces of left-over squid but at least he seemed to enjoy the meal.
My colleague, Wade Hughes has put in some internet legwork and a view from a number of scientists is the meal was a Dana Octopus Squid (Taningia danae), one of the larger species which grows to 2.3 metres.
