Chemical analysis of whale blood and some exciting surface activity

Aloha,
There’s lots to report from our day on the water on Tuesday. On our 8:00 Breakfast with the Whales cruise, we saw 10 whales, but spent a lot of our time accompanied by a pod of 3 whales — Mom/Baby and their escort. At one point, the baby surfaced just over 10 feet from our bow (of course we were sitting still in the water and watching those whales approach us)! We also ran a Private Whale Watch for some school kids from Ocean View. According to our naturalist Ikaika, the kids LOVED the cruise. They saw 20 whales and lots of Pectoral Slapping. On our 10:00 Whale Watch, we saw a total of 12 whales. We saw 5 breaches and one double breach from a Mom and her Baby. We also watched a competitive pod of 3 whales who did their usual competitive lunging and shoving. Our hydrophone was able to pick up some very clear singing with great resolution (indicating more submerged whales fairly close by). The Alala dropped off her passengers and went out again in the afternoon. For some reason known only to the Humpbacks, the afternoon sightings were more sporadic. Guests saw a total of 8 whales (a few of them close by), a peduncle throw,  and 2 breeches within 200 yards of the boat. On that trip, the hydrophone picked up only some distant singing.
Join Ocean Sports and experience the excitement of the Humpback action for yourself! Call us at 886-6666 ext. 103 or visit www.hawaiioceansports.com to reserve your adventure today.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: In 1919, R.G. Meyers, who was working towards his PhD in Chemistry at Stanford University, conducted a chemical analysis of Humpback whale blood collected from the thoracic cavity of a whale killed in Monterey Bay. He found that the Humpback’s total cholesterol level was similar to a healthy human’s, but the glucose level was 4 times what’s considered  a “healthy” level for a human. Since there’s not a lot of carbohydrates in a Humpback’s diet, he theorized that a Humpback’s liver and pancreas work differently than ours.
Mahalo and Aloha,
Captain Claire

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