Did we see Humpbacks Mating?

Aloha,
Thursday brought us some interesting whale sightings. On our Breakfast with the Whales Cruise we saw more than 20 different whales, but spent most of our time paralleling a competitive pod of 7 whales that included a Cow/Calf pair. These whales used our boat a lot (which was really exciting) diving back and forth underneath us. We also saw several breaches and tail lobs from some whales a bit further away. As if all that weren’t enough, we were accompanied by a pod of Spinner Dolphins on the way back to the bay.
On our 10:00 Whale Watch we watched lots of pods of two. Most of them were just cruising at the surface heading every which way…so Captain Baker decided to head to the south. We had several close encounters with whales spouting and surfacing right behind the boat and right along side, and we got to see multiple breaches and tail lobs from different whales within about 500 yards.. After cruising along for awhile, we decided to stop the boat and drop the hydrophone. We were delighted to hear several singers (we knew a few of them pretty close by since the sounds were so loud). While we were listening, two Humpbacks started interacting with each other just about 100 yards away. One of them spy hopped several times, but what was so interesting was the way in which these two whales were interacting. The spy hopper rolled on his/her dorsal side (back) just under the surface of the water, and we could see just the tips of her curled pectoral fins. Meanwhile, the other whale appeared to be floating just on top of the first whale, They did this several times, alternating with gentle pectoral slaps and sideways fluke dives (we could see just one half of the fluke). We really wished we could have seen what was going on below the surface!
Finally, on our Whales and Cocktails Cruise, we spent a lot of time watching a calf breaching over and over and over again. This little guy had energy to burn as he breached more than 20 times and threw in a few tail lobs for good measure.
Mahalo and have a great weekend,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: Though Humpbacks come to Hawaii primarily to have babies and make babies, and though researchers have watched them closely here since the early 1970’s, interestingly enough there are no documented observations of Humpbacks mating or calving! Those of us lucky enough to have been on today’s 10:00 Whale Watch left the boat wondering if what we were witnessing was Humpbacks mating!

No Mating but Valient Effort

Aloha,
Our guests braved the on-again, off-again rain on Wednesday, and enjoyed some pretty great whale watches. We operated two boats for our Breakfast with the Whales Cruises, and our Captains decided to go in different directions. Both Captains made the right decision, as guests on each boat saw at least 20 – 24 different whales. With all those whales out there, everyone got to see multiple breaches, pec slaps, and tail lobs. Guests on Manu Iwa were surprised when a competitive pod of 4 whales decided to use the boat for their own purposes. This pod included a Cow/Calf pair and two males who were battling to see who would dominate and get to stay with the female. They all dived multiple times just below the boat, surfacing right next to us on the other side each time. There was a lot of jockeying for position between the males, and the female did a great job keeping her calf away from the action. And on our Whales and Cocktails Cruise, we found 5 different competitive pods so we actually had to choose which group to watch. We decided on paralleling a group of 4 whales who were doing a lot of tail lobbing and peduncle throws. At one point we got to watch one of them (we think it was the female, based on her behavior and position) actually roll over onto her dorsal side (her back) and slap the water with her tail multiple times. Some researchers have observed that a female whale in this position is much more difficult for a male to approach closely (in other words, she may be communicating her disinterest in mating by making it much more difficult for mating to occur).
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day:Researchers have observed that female Humpbacks with calves are accompanied by a male escort about 83% of the time during the winter season in Hawaii. Since nursing moms rarely get pregnant, we’re not sure why these males are hanging around…one theory is that the escort is trying to make a good impression on the female so that when she is receptive, she’ll consider the possibility of mating with him. Other researchers theorize that she puts up with the company of one male, hoping that he’ll scare off other amorous suitors (maybe dealing with one male at a time is better than having to deal with 2, 3, 4 or more).

Curious Humpbacks and Dolphins

Aloha,
The rain on Tuesday held off just long enough that we could run a Breakfast with the Whales Cruise, and it was a lot of fun. As we headed out of the bay, Captain Baker decided to go with gut instincts and took a turn to the left. It paid off because we found a pair of pretty curious whales who wanted to spend some time with us. We got lots of good views of them (including some wonderful fluke shots when they decided to do a deep dive). Once they were underwater, we decided it might be interesting to drop our hydrophone, so we did. We picked up some great vocalizations – very clear, and very loud (but not loud enough to be from the whales we had just watched dive). Time was running short, so we headed back to the bay, and just before we got there, we ran into the Humpbacks’ smaller Cetacean cousins –  a pod of about 100 Spinner Dolphins.  Some of the dolphins came over to us to ride our bow wake, while others lived up the their common name by jumping and spinning all around us! It was a great finale for a fun Whale Watch.
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day:We used to think that the whales that arrived on the coast of the Big Island spent their Hawaii-time here with us. Research and close observation of individuals has proved us wrong. While the Humpbacks seem to prefer to spend most of their time on the lee sides of islands and in water less than 600 feet deep, they will travel between the islands (not in any particular direction that we’re aware of)….females who have calves travel less frequently though.

Baby Whales Entertain Themselves

Aloha,
There was a lot going on this past weekend with the whales. On Friday’s Breakfast with the Whales, guests saw at least a dozen different Humpbacks, including a few who decided to surface right next to us. On our 10:00 Whale Watch, we got to watch our favorite pod – Mom/Baby/Escort. The baby was really small, but really active – trying, in his uncoordinated way, to breach a few times just 20 feet from our boat. The escort was HUGE – one of the biggest whales we’ve seen in a long time. We also got to see lots of surface activities from other adult whales – breaches, pec slaps, peduncle throws, and even a spy hop. When we deployed the hydrophone, we heard some great sounds. On both Friday’s Whales and Cocktails, and Saturday’s Breakfast with the Whales, we got to watch a  Mom/Baby/Escort pod. Friday’s pod was really active, but Saturday’s pod was just cruising on the surface (though they were surfacing frequently about 100 yards from us). And we finished a GREAT weekend of watching whales with a Double Breach (that’s two whales breaching at the same time) just 120 yards from the boat on Sunday’s Whales and Cocktails!
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: In August 2008, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) changed the status of the Humpback Whale from “Vulnerable” to “Least Concern” reflecting the general upward trend of population levels. According to IUCN standards, animal populations in the “Least Concern” category are at a low risk for extinction. The IUCN classifies the status of humans in the same category.

Spy Hop, Breach and Baby

Aloha,
On Thursday, the rain had passed but the ocean swell was still pretty big, however it was a nice day, and we were able to resume watching the whales. On our Breakfast with the Whales Cruise, we saw spouts everywhere. We watched a lot of the action from a distance (the swell wouldn’t allow us to approach) – but towards the end of the cruise, a couple of whales found us and surfaced very close by…and then one of them BREACHED! On our 10:00 Cruise, we were delighted to find a Mom/baby pod. The calf was really small, and like most babies, pretty playful and fun to watch. After spending time with this pod, we saw a few pectoral slaps from another whale. On our way back to the bay, we all got a great look at a Manta Ray who was feeding on the plankton near the surface…and then found a pod of Spinner Dolphins. And on the Whales & Cocktails Cruise, we started the trip, with not one – but TWO Manta Rays. After watching them for awhile, we headed out to sea and were surprised when two Humpbacks surfaced right next to us. They stayed with us for 45 minutes, diving under the boat only to surface right next to us on the other side when it was time for a spout. At one point we got to watch one of those whales watching us when it spy-hopped very close by.
Mahalo, and have a great weekend!
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day:Being mammals, Humpback Moms feed their calves milk. But Humpback milk isn’t just any old milk — it’s extremely rich with a fat content of approximately 50%! Human milk contains only about 4.5% fat. Supposedly, Humpback milk tastes like “sweetened cod liver oil”…but I don’t know that from experience!

New Research on the Meaning of the Humpback Song

Question: If a Humpback breaches,  no one is there to see it, does it still make a splash?? We’ll never know since the challenging weather and surf conditions on Wednesday caused us to cancel all our cruises.
Since there’s no Whale Watch action to report, here’s some interesting new research findings instead.
No one is really sure why male Humpbacks sing their very complex songs. We know that unlike in the bird world, where male songbirds sing to attract an individual female, female Humpbacks don’t approach individual male singers.
Recently, researchers working with Dr. Louis Herman from the University of Hawaii developed a technique to accurately measure the length of singing males, and they observed that sexually immature males join sexually mature male Humpbacks in the singing. By the way, sexual maturity was determined by the length of the animal – marine biologists in both Japan and the US were able to determine that 11.2 meters (or 36′ 9″) was the length at which a male Humpback reached sexual maturity (and they based this on the weight of the whales’ testes).
Watching this interaction between the males and the lack of individual attention paid them by the females, the researchers theorized a new possible meaning for the Humpbacks’ song.
They posit that the song may actually be sung as a way to attract any passing females to the arena in which the males are swimming. If this were the case, the more voices “joining the choir”, the more likely the song would be noticed, and the more likely females would swim over to the area where potential mates are waiting. The Humpback population as a whole would benefit from songs with more voices because of the increased opportunities for males to mate with the females drawn in by the asynchronous choir. And actually, the immature males may be benefiting too – though they’d be overpowered by mature males if they even attempted to mate with females, they may be learning both the social rules of mating and the songs.
And just in case you’re curious, and you really need to know the weight of a Humpbacks’ testes at sexual maturity, please email me directly! I’d be happy to share the research findings.
Mahalo,
Claire

60 Breaches

Aloha,
Tuesday’s 10:00 Whale Watch started out with a BANG, and then just kept getting better. As soon as we left the bay we saw a big splash, and then watched as the whale who created it breached about 10 more times. This whale was part of a competitive pod of 3 whales, and as we paralleled the pod south, they started really getting active on the surface. Our onboard naturalist Angelica estimates that we saw at least 50 tail lobs, and lots of peduncle throws and head lunges from this group. For those of us who could tear our eyes away from all that action, there were other whales from different pods breaching to our starboard side and behind us. All told, if any of us could have gotten over our excitement enough to keep track, we probably saw more than 60 breaches on that trip. At one point we could see 3 different surface-active pods of 3 whales each, and we thought that if we could have stayed out a little longer, they all might have joined up (they appeared to be on that path), but all good things must come to an end…and we had to head back to the Bay.
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: Humpback Whales play host to all kinds of other animals. Besides the barnacles we often see on the Humpbacks’ flukes and other skin surfaces, the whales can also carry tape worms, lung worms, sinus flukes, and whale lice (which are related to skeleton shrimp) among others. Not all of these parasites actually harm the whale (which means that technically, they can’t really all be considered “parasites”). In fact, the barnacles might actually benefit the male Humpbacks who appear to use the sharp edges of the shells (perhaps inadvertently) as weapons during competitive battles.

Quiet Humpbacks on Monday

Aloha,
Our Monday morning Humpbacks were a quiet bunch of whales. On our Breakfast with the Whales Cruise, we saw a LOT of whales – all in pods of two, and interesting, all of them were adults (no calves). All these whales were pretty calm, so we saw a lot of spouts, a lot of dorsal fins, and a lot of flukes. At the end of the cruise, one whale did perform a peduncle throw (which researchers believe is a significant act of communication – see below).On the 10:00 Whale Watch, we saw very similar activity — lots of pods of two who were just spouting at the surface before diving again. We did get to see one very identifiable whale who we watched for awhile. This whale had a chunk gone from his fluke (so he was easy to keep track of). Towards the end of the cruise, this particular Humpback must have gotten curious about all the shouts of encouragement coming from our boat as he surfaced close-by to check us out.
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: Why would a whale waste the energy to throw the back half of his or her body out of the water in a Peduncle Throw (sometimes repetitively)?? Since the whales aren’t telling, all we can do is try to interpret their behavior in terms of what else is going on in their lives at that moment. We know that Humpbacks very rarely eat while they’re in Hawaii, and since a Peduncle Throw is a huge expenditure of energy (if you don’t believe me, try it yourself next time you’re in the ocean), it’s got to be important to the whale. Throwing half of yourself out of the water results in a huge splash and might be a way to communicate location, health, excitement, aggression or irritation to near-by whales. Especially if the near-by whale happens to be so near that he gets landed upon!

Trumpeting, Lunging, and Singing – Just another weekend for our Humpbacks in Hawaii

Aloha,
Hope you had as nice a weekend as we did!  We ran trips all weekend, with too many details to recount, but here are some highlights,
Our Breakfast with the Whales on Friday started out pretty mellow. We saw at least 10 different Humpbacks cruising throughout this trip, and had a nice close encounter when a smaller whale decided it would be interesting to surface next to our boat and swim right alongside the hull for a moment before diving again. On Saturday’s Whales and Cocktails, we saw a lot of surface activity from lots of pods of two, and when we deployed the hydrophone, it sounded as if the singer were actually singing directly into the microphone (of course we couldn’t see the whale, so we KNOW he wasn’t that close)! On Sunday’s 10:00 Cruise, we were found by a competitive pod of 5 whales. This group was very active on the surface, pushing each other around, head lunging and trumpeting. We saw several breaches from some other whales a bit further away too. Oh, and when we dropped the hydrophone, the sounds we heard were very clear and loud (meaning there were some submerged singers close by too).
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: Traditionally, the Hawaiian people did not hunt whales. It may be because they didn’t like the taste of the meat, or it may be because the spirit of the whale was so powerful…But if a toothed whale did end up on a beach (whether it died at sea and was blown ashore, or actually beached itself), only the ali’i (royalty) were allowed to possess any part of the whale. Carvings made from a whale’s tooth called “Niho Palaoa” brought mana (roughly defined as a “spiritual force”) to both the carver and the wearer of the pendant.

Close by Competition

Aloha,
The whales were out in full force on Thursday! On our Whales and Cocktails cruise guests saw more than 20 different Humpbacks. On afternoons like this one, it’s difficult to decide which direction to head, but Captain Shane decided to leave the bay and head to the north. As we cruised along the coast, we saw lots of surface activity including several breaches, and too many tail lobs to count. We all were surprised when whales surfaced near us, not once, not twice, but 3 times! Of course all good things must come to an end, so eventually we had to turn around and head back to the bay. When we were about a mile and a half from the entrance to the bay, we encountered a competitive pod of 5 whales. When you get that many Humpbacks in close proximity, there is inevitably a lot of posturing going on, and lots of displays from the whales attempting to dominate. Once again we got to see some breaching, head lunging, and peduncle throws. We didn’t have enough time left in the cruise to parallel this pod and find out who eventually dominated, but in the midst of the fray, the whales used us (maybe to block the path of their competitors?), surfacing close by and all around us!
Mahalo and have a great weekend!
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: Before whaling was banned internationally, Humpback whales’ livers were processed for their oil, which contained a lot of vitamin A. A fully grown Humpback has a liver that weighs between 800 and 1400 pounds.