Watch.
Pretty awesome ain't it.
Story here - enjoy!
Showing posts with label Humpback Whales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Humpback Whales. Show all posts
Saturday, July 18, 2020
Saturday, April 25, 2020
Mobulas and Humpback Whale - Video!
Behold!
Beautiful isn't it.
As to the behavior of that Humpback, who knows.
It sure is very active, and it also appears to be somehow using its pecs - and with Northern Hemisphere Humpbacks having been shown to use their fins to scoop up Sardines, there may be more to this than meets the eye.
Anyway - enjoy!
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Thursday, October 05, 2017
Sharks vs Humpback Whale!
Wow.
Remember this paper about Bulls killing a Whale?
Now, some Bull Sharks (and possibly Tigers and OWTs?) appear to have attacked and killed a Humpback calf in Haapai, Tonga. Very interesting - and big kudos to the good folks at Whale Discoveries for their impassioned and respectful report.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Dusky Sharks vs Humpback Calf!
Here's the video.
What strikes me as peculiar is the absence of the mother, meaning that that calf would have eventually died of starvation - and with that in mind, are those Duskies really hunting, or are they merely acting opportunistically (certainly not cooperatively!) and dispatching an animal that was already condemned for reasons we ignore = possibly lost or abandoned?
Anyway, watch.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
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Thursday, August 21, 2014
Friday, June 14, 2013
Hawaii - WESPAC vs Humpback Whales?
Think WESPAC is only anti Shark?
Think again!
Look what I've just found - and yes, this would be yet another educational event by their very own Fisher's Forum!
And now, check out this!
Need I say more.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Peekaboo!
Adi - the feisty Bull with the face mask is Batman - click for detail.Great!
I just love it when my predictions come true!
Today we had stellar weather, crystal viz and heaps of Bulls.
And not only that! As some insiders know, Rusi and I always go walkabout after the clients ascend from the Arena - and bingo, look who's made a cameo appearance!
Yes nearly exactly one year after turning up on the only day where David had to skip the dive, that would once again be infamous Adi trying to barge in on the bait - and being promptly chased off like last time!
Which begs the question, where were you Lindsay?
Did I hear day off? From summer camp? And on a glorious day like today - the more as the water here is, apparently, lovely?
And you could have been Right.There!
And that's not all!
With the full moon approaching, there was what appears to be an incipient spawning aggregation of Moorish Idols - and during the whole first dive, we had a singer entertain us from the side channel, meaning that our Humpback Whale season has now officially started!
Never seen before - hanky panky among Moorish Idols!
C'ya manana I hope! :)
PS: Lindsay did join today's dive.
And here she is - click for heroic detail!
I just love it when my predictions come true!
Today we had stellar weather, crystal viz and heaps of Bulls.
And not only that! As some insiders know, Rusi and I always go walkabout after the clients ascend from the Arena - and bingo, look who's made a cameo appearance!
Yes nearly exactly one year after turning up on the only day where David had to skip the dive, that would once again be infamous Adi trying to barge in on the bait - and being promptly chased off like last time!
Which begs the question, where were you Lindsay?
Did I hear day off? From summer camp? And on a glorious day like today - the more as the water here is, apparently, lovely?
And you could have been Right.There!
And that's not all!
With the full moon approaching, there was what appears to be an incipient spawning aggregation of Moorish Idols - and during the whole first dive, we had a singer entertain us from the side channel, meaning that our Humpback Whale season has now officially started!
Never seen before - hanky panky among Moorish Idols!C'ya manana I hope! :)
PS: Lindsay did join today's dive.
And here she is - click for heroic detail!
Friday, December 31, 2010
A Great White in Fiji!
Click for detail.
Totally amazing!
Yes, this is apparently a picture from Fiji!
The caption reads 'Jaws' of the South Pacific. A shark on the beach, 1956.
I found it by pure chance when leafing through Fiji in the Forties and Fifties, a collection of pictures by local photographer Robertson Rob Ramsey Wright, 1906-1976.
I dispose of no further information.
As Doc just commented White sharks being warm blooded dwell pretty much where they want—inshore to open sea, topical or temperate seas. Also, the latest published Fish list for Fiji, A Checklist of the Fishes of Fiji and a Bibliography of Fijian Fish by Johnson Seeto & Wayne J. Baldwin lists Carcharodon carcharias as a confirmed record.
I have never heard of anybody sighting a GW in Fiji in recent times and would surmise that the records of GWs are very likely more historical than actual, possibly also owing to the quasi disappearance of Humpback whales from Fiji in the 60ies.
But remember this?
And with the Humpbacks staging a tenuous comeback, it appears that one day, we may well be in for a surprise - very much like the good people of Tonga!
Can't wait, actually! :)
Totally amazing!
Yes, this is apparently a picture from Fiji!
The caption reads 'Jaws' of the South Pacific. A shark on the beach, 1956.I found it by pure chance when leafing through Fiji in the Forties and Fifties, a collection of pictures by local photographer Robertson Rob Ramsey Wright, 1906-1976.
I dispose of no further information.
As Doc just commented White sharks being warm blooded dwell pretty much where they want—inshore to open sea, topical or temperate seas. Also, the latest published Fish list for Fiji, A Checklist of the Fishes of Fiji and a Bibliography of Fijian Fish by Johnson Seeto & Wayne J. Baldwin lists Carcharodon carcharias as a confirmed record.
I have never heard of anybody sighting a GW in Fiji in recent times and would surmise that the records of GWs are very likely more historical than actual, possibly also owing to the quasi disappearance of Humpback whales from Fiji in the 60ies.
But remember this?
And with the Humpbacks staging a tenuous comeback, it appears that one day, we may well be in for a surprise - very much like the good people of Tonga!
Can't wait, actually! :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Fiji - Humpback Volunteers?
Just got this from Helen.
We actually see a lot more Humpbacks in Beqa Channel than ever before and with that in mind, collecting baseline data is timely indeed.
Humpback whale research volunteers needed
Fiji Fisheries Department, WWF, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and USP are looking for volunteers to assist in humpback whale research in Makogai and Levuka from August 27th to September 18th.
Research will primarily be land-based yet boat surveys to record whale song, collect whale fluke images, confirm species identification and monitor behaviour will also be undertaken. Volunteers must be willing to work long hours and learn new research skills.
A training and awareness workshop will be run in preparation for the surveys from August 18th and 19th.
All are welcome.
For more information, please contact: Saras Sharma (saras.sharma0205@gmail.com), Cara Miller (cara.miller@wdcs.org) or Penina Solomona (psolomona@wwfpacific.org.fj).
We actually see a lot more Humpbacks in Beqa Channel than ever before and with that in mind, collecting baseline data is timely indeed.
Humpback whale research volunteers needed
Fiji Fisheries Department, WWF, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and USP are looking for volunteers to assist in humpback whale research in Makogai and Levuka from August 27th to September 18th.
Research will primarily be land-based yet boat surveys to record whale song, collect whale fluke images, confirm species identification and monitor behaviour will also be undertaken. Volunteers must be willing to work long hours and learn new research skills.
A training and awareness workshop will be run in preparation for the surveys from August 18th and 19th.
All are welcome.
For more information, please contact: Saras Sharma (saras.sharma0205@gmail.com), Cara Miller (cara.miller@wdcs.org) or Penina Solomona (psolomona@wwfpacific.org.fj).
Friday, July 09, 2010
Humpbacks!
Big surprise today on the way to Carpet Cove: breaching Humpbacks!
Fiji is a Whale sanctuary.
But whereas there used to be heaps of Humpbacks in the 50ies, the population was subsequently severely depleted as Sovjet whalers killed tens of thousands of Humpback Whales in Antarctica and very possibly eradicated the "memory" of the migratory route to Fiji.
Looks like the leviathans are making a tenuous comeback.
Two years ago, a lonely individual parked himself on Shark Reef - at which every single Shark , never having seen anything like it, decided to leave!
During last year's winter, we kept hearing their songs on nearly every dive and now, it appears, we're in for more encounters.
Great - provided that the Sharks remember who's the top dog!
Fiji is a Whale sanctuary.
But whereas there used to be heaps of Humpbacks in the 50ies, the population was subsequently severely depleted as Sovjet whalers killed tens of thousands of Humpback Whales in Antarctica and very possibly eradicated the "memory" of the migratory route to Fiji.
Looks like the leviathans are making a tenuous comeback.
Two years ago, a lonely individual parked himself on Shark Reef - at which every single Shark , never having seen anything like it, decided to leave!
During last year's winter, we kept hearing their songs on nearly every dive and now, it appears, we're in for more encounters.
Great - provided that the Sharks remember who's the top dog!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Great White Hype
Back from an interesting DEMA and an equally interesting Fiji, everybody here is speculating about several tags that have popped up down in the South close to the capital Tongatapu.They've come off three Great Whites that have been tagged at New Zealand's Chatham Islands and may prove that the Sharks make incursions into tropical waters when following the Humpback Whales' annual migrations, possibly in order to target the newborn calves.
Actually, it is old news - but this of course is Tonga, the place where Time begins but then stops dead in its tracks as it is instantly and miraculously morphed into some sort of a gelatinous warp called "Tonga Time", a hitherto overlooked third consequence of Einstein's Theories of Relativity.
But I'm digressing.
In their wisdom, the NZ scientists have asked for help in trying to retrieve the tags and an according request has found its way into the in-box of the local Whale Watching Association, haters of Sharks and purveyors of idle gossip.
Will anything good come of it? Certainly not.
In a place where "sport" fishermen pride themselves in killing juvenile marlin, some redneck monster hunter will merely see this as a welcome opportunity to go set some more drum lines, like last time after the infamous Shark incident.
Back to the tags, one has been recovered from a beach and is being sent back to the Aquatic & Threats Unit in New Zealand's Department of Conservation for analysis.
After one of our tags detached itself from a Bull Shark and floated all the way to Oz, I'm very interested to find out whether the data are genuine or merely a reflection of prevailing winds and currents. But if they are, to paraphrase Patric, "To say this latest tracking data is "epic" is an understatement. It opens a whole new chapter into the migratory habits of the worlds foremost oceanic predator".
As always, time will tell.
Let's just hope it aint Tonga Time!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Uh oh ...............
Back in Tonga and the Ocean in front of the house is swarming with Humpback Whales.
Not that I really care, they're just too un-toothy to really tickle my interest.
Of course, I once did do my due diligence, took a swim and came face-to-face with a big female - at which we both looked at each other and decided not to bother. No life-changing experience by any stretch of the imagination, just a boring encounter with a placid and equally boring behemoth.
But I did do it and now I know why I'm gonna continue sticking to Sharks.
The whales are the mainstay of Tonga's tourism and town is bustling with the usual assortment of wide-eyed Palangi, many of which waaaaaaaaaaay waaaaaaaaaaay out there in la-la land, sometimes frighteningly so. But some are sharp and have taken it onto themselves to make a contribution to research and to conservation, and need to be applauded for that. As Wetpixel's Tony Wu whose nice Blog is well worth reading and whose website is displaying an array of breathtaking pictures.
So, I hear you ask, why do I bother writing this post?
The reason is This.
"New Zealand's Great White Sharks migrate to tropical waters off Australia and islands in the Pacific to feed on baby humpback whales, scientists say.
After tracking tagged sharks using GPS, New Zealand fisheries scientists have concluded the giant ocean hunters appear to be regular winter visitors to tropical waters.
Tags have popped up in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and halfway to Tonga and these trans-oceanic migrations to tropical waters have changed perceptions of the sharks as cold water, coastal creatures.
"We think they may be searching for newborn humpback whale calves, because all tags have surfaced in or near known humpback calving sites," National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research fisheries scientist Malcolm Francis said."
Halfway to Tonga? Humpback calving sites?
As in Vava'u, Tonga?
Well well, may we be in for a surprise after already having come across Reef Sharks, Tigers, Silkies, Oceanic Whitetips, Whale Sharks, Lemons, Zebras and Tonga's first ever recorded Bull Sharks?
Quite frankly, I just can't wait......
Not that I really care, they're just too un-toothy to really tickle my interest.
Of course, I once did do my due diligence, took a swim and came face-to-face with a big female - at which we both looked at each other and decided not to bother. No life-changing experience by any stretch of the imagination, just a boring encounter with a placid and equally boring behemoth.
But I did do it and now I know why I'm gonna continue sticking to Sharks.
The whales are the mainstay of Tonga's tourism and town is bustling with the usual assortment of wide-eyed Palangi, many of which waaaaaaaaaaay waaaaaaaaaaay out there in la-la land, sometimes frighteningly so. But some are sharp and have taken it onto themselves to make a contribution to research and to conservation, and need to be applauded for that. As Wetpixel's Tony Wu whose nice Blog is well worth reading and whose website is displaying an array of breathtaking pictures.
So, I hear you ask, why do I bother writing this post?
The reason is This.
"New Zealand's Great White Sharks migrate to tropical waters off Australia and islands in the Pacific to feed on baby humpback whales, scientists say.
After tracking tagged sharks using GPS, New Zealand fisheries scientists have concluded the giant ocean hunters appear to be regular winter visitors to tropical waters.
Tags have popped up in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and halfway to Tonga and these trans-oceanic migrations to tropical waters have changed perceptions of the sharks as cold water, coastal creatures.
"We think they may be searching for newborn humpback whale calves, because all tags have surfaced in or near known humpback calving sites," National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research fisheries scientist Malcolm Francis said."
Halfway to Tonga? Humpback calving sites?
As in Vava'u, Tonga?
Well well, may we be in for a surprise after already having come across Reef Sharks, Tigers, Silkies, Oceanic Whitetips, Whale Sharks, Lemons, Zebras and Tonga's first ever recorded Bull Sharks?
Quite frankly, I just can't wait......
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