Maui Snorkeling Trips

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!

Photo Courtesy K. Velasquez

WOW!  Look at that breach!  Humpback whales are known for their aerial displays.  Whale watching in Hawaii should be at the top of anyone’s list visiting the islands and many locals plan their weekends to include going out on the water.  The above photo shows a large animal close to 40 feet in length.  According to researchers, this animal would weigh in at one ton per foot!  Under the chin plate you can see a rust colored area.  Those are barnacles, a crustacean which attaches itself to whales up in the cold waters of the north.  According to the experts, the North Pacific population of humpback whales is approximately 13,000 animals, and about 60 percent of those migrate (some annually) to Hawaii.

Breaching is frequently seen while they are here, returning to the place of their birth.  It takes only a couple beats of their tail to propel this massive gentle giant out of the water.  If you look closely, you can see the eye is wide open and looking down toward the water.  The lines running down the belly from the chin are called ventral pleats.  These can expand when the whales are taking in sea water and prey in the north while they filter feed.  In Hawaii, fighting males are also seen taking in sea water to inflate these pleats in an effort to appear very large and menacing, say researchers.  So, why do they do this?  There are many theories, but for a whale naturalist it takes much consideration on the surrounding circumstances.  Sometimes they may be sloughing skin (done every couple of hours), dislodging barnacles, showing strength to a female or an opponent, communicating to whales in the area, and many others.  In this situation, it appeared this male was competing with another big male unknown to us until moments later when he popped up next to our boat!  The two pushed and shoved as they swam away.  It was extremely exciting to watch, and hear the thunderous splashes and massive blows, sounds, I’ve been told by many, stay in memory for a lifetime.

Keep checking back to this site.  We will continue to add new postings several times per week on these much loved whales, the humpback.

Photo Courtesy Katie Velasquez

What the heck is that?  This humpback whale has a most unusual dorsal fin.  Today, while in neutral, we were waiting on a trio of large animals who were taking about 12 minute down-times, this animal and a friend came up right near us several times.  When they made a pass by at less than 30 yards we were able to take this picture.  It appears this poor guy had a run in with a fishing line, cable, or possibly a line from a crab pot up north.

Humpback whales around the world deal with many human created consequences; toxins in the ocean, vessel noise, Naval sonar (which ruptures their ear drums and blood vessels causing them to bleed to death), vessel strikes, over-fished feeding grounds, and marine debris.  It is truly a surprising piece of information that the North Pacific population is growing 7% annually, according to researchers.  We can only hope this continues.

According to experts Hawaii receives about 12 – 13,000 humpback whales every year for breeding, mating, and calving.  They tell us that the females return to the place of their birth to give birth.  That makes sense.  Males may also return to their birth island, or area, but then will set out to find a receptive female, wherever in Hawaii that may be.  They are quite promiscuous, say the researchers.

Coming to Hawaii at this time is an excellent decision.  Every day there are more and more animals seen.  Whale watching is a must for all who want to observe, take pictures, and learn more about these ‘gentle giants’ of the North Pacific.  Our beautiful humpback whales.