Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A whale of a winter (lame pun intended)

Whales. So what do we know about them? They're big. They live in the ocean. They breach. And they are like dolphins on steroids. Lots of steroids.

But seriously, what about whales? Well, the humpback whale travels to Maui each year around November or December to give birth in Maui Nui. Maui Nui is basically a sunken island, and that means the sea floor is shallower than it is in other islands. When they are here, the females give birth, the babies are born and grow, and the males sing their hearts out.

But enough about boring facts.

I have been on a few whale watches and one 'official' one. (It was with my school - we took data and everything.) There are few lookouts on the island, but really you can park yourself on any stretch of shoreline and look for them. Usually you don't see much of the whale. You'll probably see them spout out some water while they breathe. Sometimes you may see a tail or flipper.

But what is extremely cool is when we went swimming today, and while our head was underwater we heard one singing. Isn't that just amazing? It's a few squeaks and whistle sounding noises, but it's just so... neat. When we went back to shore, we saw the little whale swimming east. (Pictures below!)

I'll be going on at least 2 boat rides to see the whales. I'll post updates then.




2 comments:

  1. I want to come and swim with the whales with you...maybe next winter!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, tell everyone I said Hi. Thought about calling today but it would have woke you up. LOL. Beth

    ReplyDelete