Tag Archives: Mom/Baby

Spy Hop, Breach and Baby

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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!

Female Humpback Uses the Boat for Protection

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Aloha,
Guests on board Monday’s 10:00 Whale Watch from Anaeho’omalu Bay got to see a competitive pod of 6 whales about 3 miles offshore of Keawa’iki (south of the Bay). A very big female (with her calf) appeared to be using our boat to shield herself from those 4 male humpbacks (we didn’t mind – we were happy to be of service). The whole pod actually stayed with us for awhile – and we saw a lot of head lunges from the group. We also saw about 15 other whales spouting and fluke diving throughout the trip. Over the years we’ve noticed a pattern of Humpback arrivals that seems to be playing out this season as well,. Every year we notice an abrupt increase in population density at the end of the first week of January (we’re not sure if the Humpbacks are timing their arrival with the departure of all our holiday visitors….).
On the Whales and Cocktails Cruise, we saw 6 whales, but the one that stole the show was a very active sub-adult. This whale must have breached 10 times right in front of us. He also did multiple pectoral slaps and tail lobs, and surfaced more than once right next to the boat – and this activity went on for close to 40 minutes, making for a really exciting trip!
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day:  One of the questions we get asked most frequently on whale watches, is “Why are the whales doing that?” (and for “that”, you can substitute any whale behavior we see…breaches, head lunges, peduncle throws…etc). Since we really can’t ask the whales (well, we can ask, but they aren’t answering) we tend to interpret behavior based on what else is going on in the whales’ lives at that particular time. Humpbacks are in Hawaii to mate, calve, and take care of their babies. Aerial behaviors often result in big splashes which may be a great way for a whale to communicate size, status, location, excitement, aggression, irritation, or health to other whales (or to something/someone else he hears on the surface).

Breaches, Close Encounters and Maybe some Tutoring?

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Aloha,
After a weekend of very challenging weather, the ocean finally calmed down on Sunday and we had some great Humpback encounters! On our Breakfast with the Whales cruise, within minutes of leaving the bay we saw a breaching Humpback. As we cruised over to investigate, we all got to see multiple breaches from this whale. And then, much to our surprise two whales surfaced very close to us. We absolutely love it when we can see their white pec fins reflecting as turquoise when they’re just below the surface.
On our 10:00 Cruise, the same whales chose to come and investigate us further, surfacing and diving all around us. We even got to watch one whale swim right underneath us between the hulls! And if that weren’t exciting enough – we got to watch a Mom/Baby pod. Baby was breaching a lot, and Mom was breaching too – we’re never really sure if she’s teaching her baby how to breach or if she’s just excited (or slightly irritated) by all of baby’s activities. We also saw multiple pectoral slaps from another whale, and lots of flukes. There were whales pretty much every direction we looked!
Mahalo,
Claire
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Captain Claire’s Humpback Whale Fact of the Day: At birth, a Humpback whale calf weighs between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds which is between 3% and 4% of his Mom’s weight. Interestingly, at birth, human babies are proportionally larger, averaging  4%-5% of their Mom’s weight