A minute later (time stamp on the photo) the lunge was toward the herring ball nearer the bow and the smaller boat…
Tag Archives: killer whale watching
Humpback Whales Feeding 1 of 5
Contrary to the blog title this is not a photo of a humpback whale lunge feeding but it does show the reason for the lunges in the next four posting. The boiling water off the bow of this boat and beside the skiff is a massive herring ball. The ball or rather large school of herring surrounds the boat….
Marine Mammals Airborne 2 of 3
Many reasons have been suggested for breaching humpback whales.
They often breach when they are in groups, suggesting social reasons, such as an assertion of dominance, courting or warning of danger Other widely accepted reasons is to dislodge parasites from the skin or that the behaviour may simply be a form of play. Some believe that a breach allows the whale to breathe in air that is not close to the surface, which may aid breathing in rough seas. From my experience it is often the young whales that do repeated breaches which agree with the play theory and when we have rough water on a whale watching day we also seem to have more breaches. To be honest the reason is not that important the action is just spectacular.
Transient Orca 2 of 2
Yesterdays and today’s photo shows that not all days are ideal whale watching days but it is still possible to get some good pictures. On this day we were trying to keep up with a pod of transient orca with three other boats but we had all lost contact so shut off our motors to wait. We were the lucky boat in that they popped up all around our boat. As today’s photo shows they circled the boat and came quite close. The advantage of the rougher waters is that the orcas tend to come out of the water a little more to breathe.
Also Whale Watching 3 of 3
Mouth closed, water expelled and time to look for another herring ball. Looking for another is what we do once the whale has had its fill.
Also Whale Watching 2 of 3
Clearer, same ducks in the water and a mouth full. Humpbacks will feed on krill and various kinds of small, shoaling fish such as herring (check out the mouth) and mackerel. They may eat up to 1,400 kg (3,000 lbs.) of food a day. As the mouth closes the whale will press down with its tongue forcing all water out through baleen plates. These baleen plates hang in row from each side of the upper jaw. This traps the herring / lunch inside.
Also Whale Watching 1 of 3
A little more interesting than deer on the beach is a humpback whale lunge feeding on a herring ball. This is why your guide is always looking for herring balls. (See September 25th posting) At first I thought that this photo taken by Glen (a fellow guide) was a little out of focus until I realized that was water running off the whales back. Better tomorrow…
Best Series of Photos 1 of 3
April and Rob of Cairns Australia visited Grizzly Bear Lodge in the summer of 2011 and took a series of photos which has always been one of my favourities. Photos of tails is one of the main identification tools for whales…
Marine Mammal Tail 2 of 2
Yesterday’s posting was an orca / killer whales while today’s is a humpback whale. Humpback whales are identified by the underside and trailing edge of their tail flukes; each one is different just like a fingerprint. The white on the underside of the tails will vary in amount and pattern and these photos are used by researchers to identify and track whales
Spyhopping Orcas
When spyhopping, killer whale rises and holds position partially out of the water, exposing its head, this is visually akin to a human treading water. Spyhopping is controlled and slow, and can last for minutes at a time if the orca is sufficiently inquisitive about whatever (or whomever) it is viewing. Spyhopping often occurs during a “mugging” situation, where the focus of attention is on a boat rather than on other nearby whales. Generally, the killer whale does not appear to swim to maintain its “elevated” position while spyhopping, instead relying on exceptional buoyancy control and positioning with pectoral fins.
