Maui Snorkeling Trips

He was a beautiful male!  Look at that pectoral fin.  It is brilliant white on the underside, but what was amazing was the fin was nearly equally white on the upper side.  The turquoise glow below the fin is his very white belly.  If you look closely at the picture you can see a barnacle with feeding arms fully flared on the tip of the fin.

This male was the primary escort in the middle of a battle that included at least five other males.  The reason for the vagueness is because no one really knows how many whales are in the competitions.  As these amazing animals come up for air, there could be many below.  Since they are capable of breath holding for a very long time (45 minutes approx.), so much depends on what is happening below the surface.  The primary escort stays with the female, usually right by her side, for a period of time.  Whether or not they have mated no one can tell, not even the researchers, but we do know that this male is the ‘chosen’ one — for now.  The other males are interested, very interested.  Is it because she has been mating?  Possibly.  Is it because she releases pheromones in the water to let males know she is available for mating?  Very likely.  However, there is some sort of selection process these males must endure, so the battles can be very intense.

For whale watchers, these battles are definitely a favorite, and vessel captains are always looking for them.  From a distance the best way is to look for multiple blows in a very tight area.  The more blows, the more may be going on!  Whale watching in Hawaii is a wonderful way to better understand the life cycles of the endangered humpback whale.  If you are coming to Hawaii, don’t miss out!

We must have looked really comical to anyone else watching a group of passengers on a vessel running wildly from side to side, peering into the water, taking pictures, shouts of exuberance and running to the opposite side while laughing like so many excited children. Our fun caught the Coast Guard’s eye and they joined us for awhile to watch these animal’s highly unusual behavior, the broad smiles of all three visible from our boat.  They waved before leaving.

Just a couple of days ago, while only several miles out, we came across a large pair of humpbacks.  Most of our passengers were first-time whale watchers and the excitement on board was so thick it felt electric.  These two approached right after we reached the 100 yard limit and shut down our engines.  One animal was leading and as she approached, she rolled slightly to look up into the faces of everyone peering into the water.  She dove under our vessel and slowly disappeared.  Everyone moved as quickly as was possible on a moving platform, laughter of excitement coming all.  As we breathlessly watched, her head slowly appeared (she was not in a hurry) and she rolled over while rising to the surface, exposing her belly and gender identification to everyone.  She swam about 10 yards before rolling back over to take a breath, swam out another 20 or 30 yards, made an incredibly swift turn and headed back over.  The animal with her followed dutifully, although he didn’t seem to relish ‘toying’ with the noisy beings on board this floating (and possibly annoying) vessel on the surface.  After all, most humpbacks, while in the breeding grounds, have only one thing on their minds.  But this female seemed really curious and maybe was enjoying herself while ‘people’ watching.  She appeared to be nearly 45 feet in length, the male was slightly smaller.  With whale watching here in Hawaii, when these animals approach a vessel within the 100 yard approach limit, it is called a ‘mugging’.

How do we know the second animal was a he?  According to researchers, females in breeding grounds will not travel with a ‘girlfriend’ like they do up north in the feeding grounds off California, Oregon, Washington, Canada and Alaska.  In breeding grounds, pairs are usually a male/female, or two males.

Their ‘thumbprint’ identification is on the underside of their flukes (tails) and I kept hoping she would show us hers.  They were with us nearly 20 minutes, but after being patient, we were finally rewarded.  She did a fluke up dive only a few yards away and many pictures were taken.  I must say, this is one animal that the captain, crew, and I did not recognize as we do with some of the animals, but with the North Pacific population growing approximately 7% annually and now number about 20,000 animals, there will be many more we won’t recognize.  Many of our fluke pictures we have taken, and will continue to do so, are being put into a folder and are continuously sent to researchers in Washington State to add to the catalog of thousands.

 Look carefully at the belly photo.  In the foreground is the genital slit.  Moving up the belly there are two small slits which are the mammary areas, the nipples tucked in and out of sight.  Just above those is a small-looking (about the size of a basketball cut in half) circular glob of tissue.  This is called the hemispherical lobe.  Females have one, males do not.  When this picture was sent to a well respected researcher working in Hawaii, his reply was ‘WOW, that was close.  Wish all identifications were that easy!’.  Close, indeed! She eventually moved away, slowly, the male following closely.  Everyone hugged each other and excitedly discussed the amazing photos that were taken.  Our captain waited for them to be more than 100 yards before starting our engines.  We ventured about 1/2 mile further west to a mother, calf, and male escort.  The trio were pretty quiet and after about 10 minutes the large male approached.  Seeing this, our captain quickly shut down our engines.  The escort made a very fast advance toward our port bow.  When he was about 50 yards away he made an equally speedy u-turn and headed back to the mother and calf.  Waiting for all three to be a safe distance away our captain fired up the port engine, but before he could start the starboard engine an explosive blow was heard right off our stern.  We could not believe it.  It was the same two back for another visit!  They had followed us!  Excited shouts of delight came from all, cameras everywhere could be heard working at a rapid rate.  Our videographer was equally busy capturing every moment she could.  This time they stayed about 15 minutes, with the female raising her incredibly long pectoral fin while right off our bow, and dropped it with a resounding smack on the surface.  Researchers say this is a communication, possibly letting the male know she is available for mating.  We were hoping something a little X-rated would happen, but it did not.  When they slowly swam away, our entire group, including crew and captain stood in silence, a little sad they were leaving, but the reverence felt by all was unspoken.  

We have noticed this season a very unusual amount of animals are approaching our vessel.  Why this is, researchers can only speculate.   After this amazing encounter how could any of us possibly hope for another?  So, tomorrow we will leave the harbor, our captain, crew, excited passengers and I, all equipped with cameras and excitement barely containable, knowing that whatever these animals want to share, we will gratefully accept and dare not ask for more.

WOW!  Who watches whom?  This was a massive female with a male companion.  The two of them circled our vessel for over 20 minutes the first time, and another 15 minutes the next.  After their first visit we excitedly took pictures and ran all around the deck of our spacious vessel.  The excited crew and captain enjoyed this encounter as much as the stunned passengers, many of which called this very personal visit the first of their lives.  The top picture shows her lying on her side, slapping the water with a pectoral fin easily 15 feet long.  Her very large brown eye looked up into the faces peering down as she cruised by beside the railing and popped up at various locations around the boat.

Between excited squeals of joy from the passengers and the delighted shouts from the crew and captain, I couldn’t help wondering if this animal might have been enjoying herself as well.  So, you may be thinking, how did we know it was a ’she’?  Much to our amazement, SHE rolled over and showed us!  Right next to the boat!  We were able to obtain a few pictures and we will show those in an upcoming post.  

After she was done spending time with us, she slowly moved away, taking her male escort with her.  We know it was a male because researchers are adamant that females have not been known to travel with another female.  In the breeding grounds it would be counter-productive.  Okay, that makes sense.  However, males have been known to travel with another ‘buddy’.  If she had not rolled over, we could only be guessing, but not this time.  

After they moved away the first time, we went over a half mile west to watch a mother and her calf.  They didn’t want to stick around and we honored that.  We started our engines to move away when an explosive blow was heard off our stern.  Several passengers began jumping up and down with uncontainable excitement.  It was the same two from about a half hour before, much to our amazement and utter delight.

What an amazing and educational afternoon we had.  On the way in, our informational handout table was swamped with visitors looking for more information, and we have plenty.  Many researchers and scientists offer us their papers to share, along with brochures from NOAA and several local non-profits.  Most of the return trip was in silence with a few excited whispers.  My volunteers and I stood by, ready if there were any questions, but understanding the need by some to just ‘digest’ what had happened to us all that day.  I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Photo Courtesy Katie Grove-Velasquez

Today’s whale watch was breathtaking!  We were only two miles out when we found a very beautiful female humpback whale  surrounded by several males battling to get close to her in hopes of being selected for  mating.  We were very surprised to see the female appeared to be quite small, compared to the males surrounding her while they pushed, shoved, growled and left the water in their efforts to be noticed.

According to Mark Ferrari, a well respected whale researcher working in Hawaiian waters, the females average length is 45′ and the males, 42′.  These males were all at least 40′, as far as we could tell.  Females mature sexually around five years old, and the males a little later approximately 7 years of age.  We share with passengers that humpback whale females are larger than the males as a general rule.  (reverse sexual dimorphism)

Twice two males broke away from the battle and headed over to our vessel while we watched, in neutral, and held our breaths as they came toward us.  They dove down only 15 feet deep and turned, looking up at the faces peering down into the water, then slowly and deliberately returned to the battle.

The picture shows one male rising up from the depths, verticle in the water, below the surface his pectoral fins were outstretched in a maneuver called ‘the crucifix’.  His throat was filled with seawater, which he expelled slowly.  This move is said to be a physical block showing strength and size.  I don’t think any of us let out a breath until he slid back into the water, cameras clicking rapidly everywhere on the deck.  Passengers hugged each other gleefully and chattered with great excitement.

I can hardly wait until tomorrow’s trip out to see what nature has in store for us.  Wherever that female led the big males, it is possible, according to researchers, that they could still be competing and she may not have chosen a victor.  We also know that the movements with the males are very fluid.  As tired males no longer wishing to be involved move away, others could come in to replace them.  We know that these groups could grow, numbering more than 30 or 40!

Tomorrow, with cameras in hand and excitement on their faces, another group of hopeful visitors, crew, with our capable captain will board and head out on another marine safari, ready for whatever comes our way.

Photo Courtesy Jim Friend Productions

Upon a return trip from snorkeling at Molokini, a tuff cone in Maui County waters, tired passengers and crew came across an amazing surprise:  a 17 feet long female whale shark!  The captain brought the vessel to a slow halt and allowed all, who wanted, to jump in with mask and fins.  Crew, videographers, and passengers slid into the water next to this beauty and enjoyed her presence.

Whale sharks, although seen more in the summer months when some species of coral are spawning, are being seen with more regularity than past years, but researchers are not sure why.

We tell our visitors about whale sharks having approximately 300 rows of teeth in each jaw and how a single tooth has a cusped hook.  They are amazed to learn that these large animals do not use their teeth to feed, instead they suck in their food, which consists of quite a variety from squid, tuna, small crustaceans, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and macroalgae.

They were in awe when we explained how this species is the largest fish on the planet, and this large female was probably not sexually mature as researchers believe that happens when both sexes are over 9 meters in length.  It is fun to share that most researchers agree these animals could, theoretically live to be quite old, some tagged individuals have been known to be around 60 years of age.

This species is a live-bearer, but it appears that the egg casings hatch in utero and the pups are born approximately 21 – 25 inches at birth.  Blue sharks have been found to have young whale sharks in their bellies, as have blue marlin, but researchers are not convinced that this is commonplace.

Whale sharks are very vulnerable to the fishing industry, especially finning.  A large whale shark’s dorsal fin could bring $10,000 on the black market making this species greatly sought out for this type of fishing.  In Taiwan, alone, there are over 100 whale sharks killed annually, but no one knows how many kills go unreported.  The IUCN lists this species as “vulnerable”, but shark lovers worldwide are hoping to see this status change to make it easier to get laws passed making it illegal to kill this majestic animal.

As everyone watched her swim away after sharing about 20 minutes of her time, all felt deeply happy and satisfied.  Everyone knew that what had just happened during their ride back to the harbor on this special ‘marine safari’, was truly a gift.

Photos Courtesy K. Velasquez

The ‘thumbprint’ of each individual is in the pattern of the flukes.  No two are alike although they can have similarities.  The job of a fluke researcher is very labor intensive.  To date, there is no computer program that will compare photographs, or slides, of these animals.  There is a great need out there for someone to write such a program, similar to one that is used for human fingerprints.  The person who does come up with this program could be set for life, not to mention the eternal gratitude from every researcher and intern in this field.

Since the 1960s, this method has been used to determine who goes where.  In the North Pacific stock of humpback whales, which may now number about 20,000 animals, researchers know that about 60% of those who migrate head to Hawaii.  They tell us that 30% head down to Baja, California, and the remaining 10% to the islands south of Okinawa.  To obtain these photographs, researchers follow individuals around all day and take pictures of each dive, hoping to obtain that ‘perfect’ photo.  The photos are then placed into the database and someone later sits and compares all photos, some taken in each area.  From this method we also know of individuals who come to Hawaii and feed in Canadian waters.  Other Hawaiian whales are seen in SE Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.

Since we are out there whale watching nearly every day, there are animals that we have come to know over the years.  Sometimes it seems that they may recognize us as well.  It is not uncommon to have ‘friendly’ whales approach vessels.  We always like to ask “who watches whom?”.

Whale watching in the Hawaiian breeding grounds is an unforgettable and amazing experience that touches different people in various ways.  Some say it is a spiritual connection that keeps them returning during whale season.  Others say watching whales helps them to better understand these gentle giants.  Whatever the reason, I feel we all receive some sort of connection with wild animals.  Possibly it helps us stay grounded with who we really are and why we are here on this amazing planet.  Come to Hawaii and join us.  Get reconnected with your marine mammals.

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

How cute!  This curious new baby humpback cruised over to do some people watching!  The only way something like this will happen is if mom allows her little one to approach vessels.  The moms control everything their little ones are allowed to do.  After carousing in the breeding grounds, the females will mate as frequently as they choose.  Once they may feel they’ve been successful, the animals head out of Hawaiian waters and go ‘polar north’.  According to researchers, this would take them to SE Alaska.  Once there, they will follow the food, which may consist of capelin, herring, salmon, sardines, sand lance, and krill.  Fattened up, the mothers-to-be will return to Hawaiian waters to give birth to calves that are approximately 1/3 of mom’s length.  This could mean that small moms have little babies, i.e. 10-15 feet in length and 1-1.5 tons.  A very large mother, say 55-60 feet in length would produce a baby up to 20 feet in length and 2 tons at birth!

The feeding of such a large baby can take quite a toll on mom.  Depending on their size, according to research, these ‘little’ ones can need from 100 to 135 gallons of mom’s 50% fat milk every day.  On this rich and thick (consistency of yogurt) diet, junior will gain approximately 100 pounds daily and grow one foot per month!

Another amazing tidbit is that some moms choose to mate again while lactating.  This would mean she has little time to take her new calf back up north so both can feast.  She will go after the fish for their oily content so she can build up the blubber, and little one will eat krill while learning how to use bubble nets and other skills used by these magnificent animals.  Mom will never leave her calf, even though she may be pregnant again.  Calves will leave mom when they are ready, and this usually happens before or by the first year.  Although yearlings are seen in Hawaii, not all yearlings will follow moms down to the subtropics.

Watching moms teach their little ones different behaviors is a real treat for any whale watcher, whether it’s the first time, or a seasoned whale lover.  Visiting Hawaii in January, February, or March?  Whale watching is a MUST for any visitors.  This is the only place in the 50 states that boasts breeding grounds for this endangered marine mammal.  Calves are born every day and the males continue their fighting for the right to mate.  Grab your cameras, let’s go!

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

We call her Ruby.  Look at her dorsal fin.  It is a very unusual color, free of scars, markings, and cookie cutter bites.  She was in the middle of a competition.  That is, several males trying to get close enough to be given the opportunity to mate.  The big male to the left of the photo is plowing up fast behind her.  He was making sure he was the one to stay next to her.  We observed this big boy to be the escort, or the one she has chosen to temporarily ‘hang out’ with.  Whether or not they have mated is unknown, but to watch a competitive group is like watching the WWE of whales.  They body slam, ram, push to the ocean floor, pinning opponents there for a few minutes, body block and blow bubble curtains.  We’ve seen two males come together and ram head on, pushing upward out of the water belly to belly.  We are able to witness many jaw dropping behaviors as these big males, each refusing to give up and willing to battle for hours.  Researchers tell us that the primary escort rarely gets beaten.

This is the first time we’ve noticed Ruby.  She is beautiful.  As this group moved around our vessel we watched intently and our on-board videographer following with her digital camera, taking over a half hour of video.  Ruby did not show us her tail.  It was frustrating, but we know we’ll be back out there tomorrow.  This has been a very exciting season so far, and we’re just getting started.  Join us!

Photo Special Courtesy Paul Spielvogel

What a beautiful animal!  This photo came to me by a special photographer, Paul Spielvogel (thanks, Paul!), who is aka Sharkjunky.  Great hammerheads do live in Hawaiian waters, but are very rarely seen.  Fishermen catch them on occasion.  In Hawaiian waters these sharks like deep areas, more than 300 feet deep.  Check out the teeth on this animal!  Pointed, serrated, curved back, and plentiful!  Sharks lose teeth every time they eat, say the researchers.  Upon further investigation of this particular shot I noticed the nictitating membrane is up slightly.  The membrane covers the eye during feeding to protect from thrashing and any defensive moves the prey might do.  (Ingenious!)  Nature has figured out everything!  Most likely when this picture was taken, this beautiful creature was considering a snack.  The great hammerhead also has the capability of gastric eversion.  That is, if they eat something that won’t digest they are able to throw their stomachs out of their body, empty the contents, and draw the stomach back in!

Sharks are a vitally important part of the ecosystem.  If we were to lose our sharks, our oceans would decline.  We get food, water, and oxygen from our oceans.  Eventually, say the researchers, mankind would cease to exist.  We must all do our part to keep our oceans clean, to leave them better than when we found them, and to leave intact seas for our future generations.

 Come to Hawaii.  Take a boat ride out on the blue Pacific.  There are so many wondrous animals just waiting to be appreciated. 

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

She’s silvery grey and quite the beauty!  This smaller animal was seen with several much larger whales who were being very aggressive with one another.  That type of grouping is called a competition.  Humpbacks travel at least 3500 miles (one way) to mate so we can safely assume these battles are quite serious.  They aren’t eating much when they are here, say the researchers.  Hawaii does have herring and sardines in our waters, but not in the numbers of the north where our whales eat up to one ton per day.

So, why is this whale so light in color?  Researchers tell us it’s because she is juvenile, or a sub-adult.  That would make her less than 10 years old.  Females reach sexual maturity around 5 years of age and males, around 7.  The skin is so very beautiful mottled with black spots and silvery to dark grey.  When she was traveling next to us deeper in the water she appeared to shimmer, which took many viewers breath away, including mine.

How we love whale season!  It’s hard to believe it is nearly mid January already.  If you are planning on coming to Hawaii, please make sure to get out there and go on a whale watch!  Every day there are more and more animals.  As for this female, we will be looking for her every day.  We are told she could be here for up to two weeks while she is looking for partners to mate with.  I can’t wait for tomorrow!