Thar She Blows! Humpback Whales!

The very first thing Granpa and I do is look for the whales!

The humpbacks vacation from Alaska and the West Coast to Hawai'i during the winter months, giving birth to their babes in the warm central North Pacific and seeking out an "escort" for those females in estrus.  They are only here through March - sometimes leaving earlier, sometimes a bit later.

So, we are lookin', lookin', lookin'.  Granpa's got his camera with the monopod to steady it in the fierce Trade Winds; I've got my binoculars at the ready with len's polished and focused.  We've chosen a spot on shore with a wide, wide view of the ocean and waters only hundreds of feet deep as opposed to thousands of feet deep.  The whales seem to prefer about 600 foot deep shelves.   We watch.  We wait.  But not for long!!

This is our first assurance that the whales are still here!  The mist is the result of an underwater blow indicating that the whale is about to surface!!  When we were here on Kauai the last time this was about as good a picture as we got of whale season.  Since then, John got a new camera for Christmas that will take a series of shots in rapid succession.  We're hoping for something more this time.

Adult female humpbacks are rarely alone in Hawaiian waters.  She will usually be leading a group of males or is being chased by a single male.

She may have given birth upon arrival here in late September or early October, and have an "escort" for herself and the baby (calf), though escorts may only hang around for a very short time.  I can almost imagine the whale-eyes he's making at her as if saying, "Hey, babe.  How was you're trip down from Alaska?  These Hawaiian waters surely do warm the soul, huh?  Hope the delivery of that darlin' calf was an easy one.  Well, gotta fly!  See you around the coastline again real soon..."

What?  You think it's different from species to species?  Maybe - but not from male to male.  (Just kidding, Granpa.  YOU were different from ALL the rest, and that's why I chose YOU!)

The lead whale will throw its tail up and the chaser will lunge and dive from behind.  (The first photo was taken into a rising sun; the second in a mid-day chase scene.)

 If you see this lead "fluke swish" from the front or back, it's hard to see the chaser's back as it lunges.

Getting a good shot of the chaser's back you may miss the fluke swish altogether ...

(Nothing in life is simple.)

There are eleven documented populations of humpback whales in the oceans.  The one that migrates to Hawai'i comes 2,700 miles from Alaska, leaving behind their deep feeding and resting waters.  Relatively speaking, Hawaiian waters are more shallow which help whales accomplish several things.  First, it concentrates the whales in a smaller area, hence they can find each other.  Next, the shallow banks seem to allow for more successful reproduction, and better survival of those calves born from last years mating.  (Notice the word, "seem."  Here's one I find very hard to believe: The actual mating of humpback whales has never been seen, filmed, or documented.  Everything about it that you might hear is pure guesswork!)

One thing that seems to be consistently true about these whales is that they are never totally and completely consistent.  Seems a few whales here and there stray from their "population" into the breeding grounds of a neighboring population.  For instance, and "Alaskan" whale may end up off the coast of Mexico, or Hawai'i, or Japan.  No one knows why.  I'm sure it makes for better genetic mixing, but why do they do it?  Do they get lost (probably males because they're not about to ask for directions!), or are they juveniles in rebellion, or is there some primal plan going on here?  Also, apparently not all whales abandon their Alaskan homes every winter.  And whales may breed en route, so they don't have to migrate at all...  See?  They are consistently inconsistent - which may be how they manage to keep a few of their secrets!  I LIKE 'EM !!

 An unsuspected breach