O ne of the most uncanny sights in nature is that of a school of fish, a seething, silvery mass of life thousands strong, darting and diving in perfect coordination. They skim the surface of a ...

And: This habit of swimming next to each other is also characteristic of a large school of fish. The researchers then also marked small sub-groups within a large school.

A school of giant danio swimming in a “water treadmill” that scientists created to study how fish are affected by aquatic turbulence. Credit Credit... Zhang et al., PLOS Biology 2024 ...

While this school of fish may seem like a hearty snack, Bryde’s whales eat an estimated 1,320 to 1,450 pounds of food daily—so this whale likely fed again shortly after.

The researchers then also marked small sub-groups within a large school. They established that groups of three within the school move in a very similar way to an isolated group of three.