Humpback Whales - Encounters

*Humpback Whale Encounters - Year 2000*
All images are copyright protected and ABSOLUTELY NO USE is permitted without written consent of Steve Alexander. For permission to use photos, please email Steve.
	Click here for Jen's exciting narrative of swimming with Humpbacks
	Breach Vava'u, Tonga #36812. Humpback whales, Megaptera noveanglia, are the most spectacular whales to watch because of their incredible aerobatic displays.

Humpback Calf Vavau, Tonga #23355. This calf, who we named "Junior" , was one of the last ones to leave Tonga for Antarctica. It played with us for over 3 hours while it's mother watched carefully from below.

	Leviathon Rarotonga, Cook Islands #27024. When raising the tail flukes this high out of the water, the whale is typically taking a deeper, longer dive.

Diving Calf Vava'u, Tonga #35810. A Calf dives down to join it's mother taking a nap about 15 feet (5m) below.

	Dive Rarotonga, Cook Islands #27026. Whales are usually identified by the pattern of markings on the underside and edges of the tail flukes.

Pec Slap Rarotonga, Cook Islands #23312. The Humpback Whale has the largest appendage of the animal kingdom; it's pectoral flipper, or "pec" which can reach 15' (5m) in length. This whale is "pec-slapping", banging it's huge pec on the surface of the water. This is thought to be a means of communicating with other whales.
	Mammalian Mass Rarotonga, Cook Islands #22433. At 30 to 40 tons and 20X the size of an elephant, the Humpback Whale is truly a huge mammal. The scars on the back of this one are from "Cookie Cutter Sharks" which take circular bites from the whales as free snacks! I guess we could compare it with being bitten by a mosquito!

Freedom Vava'u, Tonga #36836. Nothing is more exhilarating than seeing a Humpback shooting clean out of the water.

	Barnacled Rarotonga, Cook Islands #23333. Barnacles attach themselves to the leading edges of the whales flukes.

Cruisin' Beveridge Reef #27507. A two year old Humpback cruises in the shallow coral lagoon of a remote seamount.

	Collecting Skin Samples Rarotonga, Cook Islands #32413. Nan Hauser and Hoyt Peckham of the Center for Cetacean Research (CCR) , collect Humpback skin samples for DNA analysis. This is used to trace the genetic history of whale populations. A Humpback whale sheds it's skin every 36 hours. When swimming in the wake of a whale the sloughed skin often appears like "snowfall" in the water.

See Jen's Narrative of swimming with Humpbacks!

All images are copyright protected and ABSOLUTELY NO USE is permitted without written consent of Steve Alexander. For permission to use photos, please email Steve.