Tag Archives: humpback escort

Escorts and Breaching

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Aloha,
We had some nice times on the water on Wednesday.We saw whales on all of our trips, but the highlight of the whole day was on our 10:00 Whale Watch when we saw a total of 8 different whales. One was a pod of 3…Mom, her baby, an an escort (for a definition of the escort’s role, please see today’s Humpback Fact of the Day). We got to see 2 breaches just 25 yards from the boat. Jonathan, our on board naturalist, is pretty sure it was the escort doing the breaching since Mom and baby weren’t all that active on the surface. When we deployed the hydrophone on this trip, we heard some very clear and loud songs. As more and more whales arrive in Hawaii this season, we’re beginning to notice more sustained surface activity. Since the Humpbacks come all the way from Alaska to mate and calve…this sustained activity is an indication that the party is getting started!
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: We frequently see Mom and Baby whale accompanied by a third whale. We used to think the third whale was a female helping mom take care of her baby, but now that we can identify gender more easily, we know it isn’t. It’s a male — not Dad —but a “wanna-be” Dad. Mom is capable of getting pregnant right after she gives birth (though she usually waits a year between pregnancies). So why does this new mother allow the male near her and her calf? We’ll introduce possible theories in tomorrow’s Fact of the Day.

Humpback Babies and a whale of a fight!

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Aloha,
Guests aboard both our 10:00 Whale Watch on Alala and our 3:00 Whales & Cocktails cruise report seeing a Cow and Calf (which is what we call mother and baby whale, though from now on I’ll stick with the unofficial “mom and baby” labels). At 10:00, our Mom let her baby actually come close by the boat to investigate us! We saw a total of 15 whales on that trip, and had one breach within a couple hundred yards of the boat — and saw 5 other breaches off on the horizon. At 3:00, our Mom and Baby were accompanied by 2 other whales. The closer whale (the primary escort) spent more than 30 minutes fighting with the other whale — at one point we could see them banging into each other and one actually lifting the other (think “WWF Wrestling). Eventually the 4th whale gave up and swam away…we also saw 2 breaches within 300 yards of the boat and a couple of peduncle throws.
See the action for yourself! Ocean Sports operates whale watches daily from 2 different locations within the Hawaii islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Waters. Call 886-6666 ext 103 or visit www.hawaiioceansports.com to get in on the fun.
Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: We frequently see Mom and Baby whale accompanied by a third whale. We used to think it was a female helping mom take care of her baby, but now that we can identify gender more easily, we know it isn’t. It’s a male — not Dad — but a “wanna-be” Dad. Mom is capable of getting pregnant right after she gives birth (though she usually waits a year between pregnancies).
Mahalo,
Captain Claire