Scientists said on Wednesday they tracked a Cuvier’s beaked whale off the coast of California using satellite-linked tags as the creatures dove down nearly 1.9 miles (2,992 meters) and spent two hours and 17 minutes underwater before resurfacing.
Get ready to scroll down, way, way down for context on how far down the deepest ever ocean dive by a mammal really is.
Scientists said on Wednesday they tracked a Cuvier's beaked whale off the coast of California using satellite-linked tags as the creatures dove down nearly 1.9 miles (2,992 meters) and spent two hours and 17 minutes underwater before resurfacing.
That is astonishingly deep. There are fish that dive deeper, but they don't need to take air from the surface down with them. To see how far that ranks with other deep-diving creatures, including humans, check our graphic below (don't get discouraged, you will reach the bottom).