Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S27:W1

January 21 – January 28, 2017

Week One of our 27th Season

This year Aquatic Adventures embarks on our 27^th year on the Silver Bank, the North Atlantic humpback whale calving and breeding grounds in the Caribbean. The whales we have come here to see travel thousands of miles from the frozen far Northeast coast of the United States and Canada and even Norway for mating and giving birth to their young in these warm tropical waters.

It is estimated that throughout the months of January through April between five and seven thousand whales visit the Silver Bank, a 33 square mile area of shallow plateau approximately 90 nautical miles north east of the Dominican Republic, and some have most certainly already arrived.

Photo Credit: Hugo Asberg

For this first charter of the season we were very lucky to have with us a wonderful group of people from all over the world that travel together incorporating healing meditation and heart energy sharing into their marine mammal interactions and experiences. This warm and enthusiastic attitude towards the whole experience, combined with some beautiful Caribbean sunshine and (mostly) calm seas, resulted in us all, guests and crew alike, having a wonderfully relaxing and peaceful first week!

Photo Credit: Hugo Asberg

Photo Credit: Hugo Asberg

The whales too seemed to be happy and comfortable with us offering our snorkelers the rare and privileged opportunity to enter the water with them and observe them in their domain. After some far off sightings of flukes and blows on the horizon our first close-up encounter was with a mother and calf, accompanied by a third whale, an adult male known as the escort. With the hope of mating, this escort will stay close to his chosen female in order to fend off other potential mates. This first encounter was brief but some of our keener guests were able to slip into the water and see the whales underwater for the first time as the trio slowly swam by. The next day we found a couple of adult whales that again allowed us to approach gently and by timing their breathing cycles we could surmise that they were most likely sleeping. These sleeping whales made for an ideal in-water encounter for our guests as they would stay down for twenty minutes or so between surfacing, allowing our snorkelers to simply lie at the surface and look down on these magnificent fifty foot animals only forty feet below in their most peaceful state. Each time the graceful giants stirred and slowly raised to the surface the female would turn and expose her ventral pleats and underbelly to our lucky guests looking on from only a few feet away. In this way all the guests on both Aquatic Adventures tenders were able to take it in turns to be in the water with the whales for over two hours!

Photo Credit: Bruce Wayne

Later in the week we were very fortunate to encounter another mother with a young calf, still showing the pale grey color of newborns. This early in the season this calf could well have been one of the first calves of 2017 and if the mother or calf had shown any dislike of our approaching tender we would have immediately let them be. However despite the calf’s newness to this world both mother and calf appeared at ease. This pair was again accompanied by an escort who when we first approached was displaying his prowess at the surface with fin slapping and tail breaching, but with no other males close by for competition he was giving the mother plenty of space and opportunity to exercise her new calf, remaining close by but not crowding the mum and babe. Before the escort eventually moved on with the mother and calf, we observed the three whales both above and below the water for nearly forty-five minutes and at one point the mother even allowed the youngster to swim close and investigate our excited snorkelers.

Photo Credit: Bruce Wayne

With our very special whale encounters and the wonderful energy from our group of animal lovers it made for a perfect first week. We are always grateful for any interactions we have with the majestic humpbacks of the Silver Bank and look forward to another spectacular season!

Photo Credit: Hugo Asberg

The Aquatic Adventures team hopes that you are as inspired as we are to help sustain the humpback whale population. Through our partnership with the Center for Coastal Studies, we are helping to gain critical information on these charismatic creatures, and to seek ways to protect and preserve them. To find out more about this effort, join their mailing list or to make a donation, large or small, please visit:

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

Thanks to all who have generously donated!

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures

Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W11

April 2 – April 9, 2016
Week Eleven of our 26th Season

As our eleventh and final week of 2016 has come to a close, we can look back over the season and feel grateful and privileged to have once again been invited to see these most graceful and awe-inspiring creatures in their own very special domain. As the end of April approaches, the last of the North Atlantic Humpback Whales that we see here on the Silver Bank and surrounding calving and breeding grounds will make their way back up to the Northern feeding grounds on the east coast of the United States and Greenland and off the coast of Norway. Those whales that were still here for this last week of the season treated us to some great surface activity and also to some wonderful and unforgettable in-water encounters.

We saw spectacular top-side activity from competitive groups of males hoping to mate one last time with a willing female, with numbers reaching as high as nine whales in one group. One can never tire of witnessing the raw power of these enormous beasts as they fight one another jockeying for pole position next to the female. These high energy battles can go on for hours and it is not surprising that they will often have “time-outs” to recuperate their strength and continue the rivalry. We were fortunate to be watching a group of seven whales when this “time-out” was called.

There were many chances to get in the water this last week. We were very lucky to encounter a relaxed mother, calf and escort resting in preparation for the long journey north. The mother allowed us to enter the water and watch her calf for a few breathing cycles while she and the escort rested below. We also encountered some individuals that appeared to be making the most of the warm and gentle waters for as long as they could before the need to return to the feeding grounds became too urgent. We had a young solo whale that stayed with our tenders for more than an hour simply resting and playing at the surface and a male/female pair that circled the tenders with obvious curiosity for their human visitors.

Once again we found our playful friends, the off-shore Atlantic spotted dolphins, or rather they found us! On the final day of the season we were treated again to another encounter with a chilled out humpback mother, calf and male escort that kept us entertained for more than half the day! This time the group was swimming ever so slowly not making any effort to leave us, as if the mother simply wanted to exercise her young calf in preparation for their migration. We had many opportunities to enter the water and watch the gentle giants as they slowly swam by just fifteen feet from us. Even more special was the very rare sighting of the mother nursing, expressing a thick and extremely fatty milk for her young calf. After a wonderful final week, this last in-water encounter really made the season for our guests and crew alike.

It’s been another unforgettable season on the Silver Bank of the Dominican Republic. We thank all of our guests for joining us and sharing in the magic of this very special place and most of all we wish for our giant friends, the Whales of the Silver Bank, a safe journey back north to fruitful feeding grounds. We look forward to seeing you again next year!

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

Thanks to all who have generously donated this season!

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures
Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W10

March 26 ~ April 2, 2016
Week Ten of our 26th Season

Our penultimate week on the Silver Bank and the whale action has by no means slowed down. Although some of the Humpbacks that migrate here every year will have already begun their long journey back up north to the feeding grounds, many are still here enjoying the Caribbean sunshine for another couple of weeks; mothers taking the opportunity to strengthen their growing calves for a little longer and males cruising the calm waters looking for that last chance to mate!

Once again we encountered rowdy groups of adult males in pursuit of that premium position next to a female in estrus in the hope of mating and lots of top side activity from mothers and calves as the youngsters practice the breaches and fin slaps that Humpback whales are famous for. But the most memorable and unique encounters this week for our lucky guests and what makes the Silver Bank such a special place for whale watching must surely be the in-water experiences with whales. Once again for the third week in a row we were extremely fortunate to be able to locate a singing whale and get in the water for a live performance! Even if you have heard a recording of the famous Humpback song, it just cannot compare to the sensation of being forty feet over the head of a whale and feeling the vibration of the majestic beast’s song as it rings out for miles over the Silver Bank.

Early on in the week we found a cooperative mother and calf pair that allowed us to have a soft-in-water encounter with them. On both occasions the mother appeared to be so comfortable with our tenders that she would intentionally stay close to the small boats and allow her calf to rise gently to the surface to breathe only a few meters from our excited guests, patiently waiting at the surface, cameras in hand. The calf would come to the surface every three or four minutes while the mother rested below and when she came up she would move on a few body lengths before settling down again at about fifty feet. In this way we were able to have the rare and treasured experience of sharing in the intimate bond between a mother whale and her calf while they rest in preparation for their 3000 mile migration north.

On the last day of this week’s charter the winds picked up and we braved choppy seas in search of one more special encounter, and we were not disappointed. We were rewarded with an unforgettable experience, another fantastic mother and calf encounter this time with a male escort in tow. Apparently unimpressed by the efforts of the escort to prove his desirability as a suitable mate, the mother, who appeared only focused on raising her baby, stayed with our tender and snorkelers for a short while before moving and leaving the escort to his striking display of lob tailing around our tender of stunned guests. Not only did we get to see the whales in the water but also enjoyed spectacular surface activity from the escort.

Amongst all this Humpback action we again had the opportunity, for the second week in a row, to swim with Atlantic spotted dolphins. This time the pod was even bigger, at around thirty individuals clicking and buzzing all around us. Being in the water with these playful creatures is such a different experience than the tranquility and peacefulness of being in the water with the whales and it really does top off an already fantastic week!

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures
Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W9

March 19 ~ March 26, 2016
Week Nine of our 26th Season

As the weeks roll on and we approach the end of the Humpback whale mating and calving season here on the Silver Bank, 90 miles offshore of the Dominican Republic, the very special and unique encounters with our acrobatic friends have not diminished in any way. In fact the excitement, certainly top side, has been increasing as the need to breed before returning to the feeding grounds becomes all the more urgent! Mothers and calves have also this week been providing us with some spectacular shows as the calves continue to grow and gain strength. One morning we encountered a mother with her baby who proved to be quite the handful for the new mum but to the delight of our on looking guests, the calf, full of the joys of spring, breached thirty five times in a row! A new calf will do this quite often when they start to realize their abilities and want to practice over and over; simply because they can! Wonderful photographic opportunities and a great way to start the week off with a bang!

Rowdy group action!

Not only was the surface activity spectacular but our fortunate guests got to witness something quite unusual this week when we encountered two whales at the surface that appeared a little different…they were very small! Most of the North Atlantic Humpbacks that migrate down to the Silver Bank are here for the very specific reason of calving or mating. Humpbacks reach sexual maturity at around four years of age. Although it is difficult to age a humpback whale without proper DNA testing, these two youngsters could not have been more than one or two years old and so their reason for being here in the Dominican Republic was not so apparent. Like some of the dancing whales we have been fortunate to see this season, these whales could have been a male and a female engaging in some kind of pre-mating flirtation but to our casual observers it appeared more like a couple of young friends “hanging out”. The whales rolled and bobbed at the surface for more than three hours close to our tenders, allowing our excited snorkelers to watch from a few meters away as they spy-hopped and gently slashed their tails in the surf. This interesting encounter reminds us that we are still guessing at the meaning of much of the behavior we see from these fascinating creatures and that we still have so much to learn about these mysterious giants.

We may travel from all over the world to see the Whales of the Silver Bank, but occasionally we do see other marine mammals here too! This week we were treated to an encounter with a twenty strong pod of Atlantic spotted dolphins! These wonderfully playful and curious animals delighted in swimming and jumping around our tender and snorkelers, allowing yet another rare and special opportunity to experience wild animals in their natural environment.

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures
Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W8

March 12 ~ March 19, 2016
Week Eight of our 26th Season

This all singing, all dancing week on the Silver Bank got off to a great start and our guests had no idea just how lucky they were when the very first whale we encountered turned out to be a singer! For almost all of our guests, this was the first time they had heard a Humpback whale sing and everyone was fascinated by the complexity and range of sounds produced by the lone male who was most likely searching for a mate. The Humpback’s song is usually around twenty five minutes long and some have been recorded singing it over and over for more than twenty four hours. Some singers will remain in one place while they sing, rising to the surface to breathe every 15 minutes or so and returning to the same spot, while others will slowly swim while they sing. With this whale we were able to float over the musical giant for two breath cycles before he moved on to serenade in a different area of the Bank.

The good fortune continued when the very next morning we encountered another not so common phenomenon, dancing whales! Although this season we have actually been very lucky to have encountered several sets of dancers, it is always a privilege to see this beautiful behavior between a male and female whale. More often than not, the female will lead the graceful dance while the male simply stays close by but on this occasion the male appeared to be posturing along with the female and at one point the female held motionless, head down in the water while the male circled around her. It was a stunningly beautiful show and one we will never forget.

As the week went on with beautiful sunshine and calm seas, the whale encounters heated up with four sightings of large rowdy groups. As the season goes by and many females start their journey back to the northern feeding grounds, the numbers of males fighting over potential mates increase and the rowdy groups this week were larger and more violent than before, providing us with some spectacular surface activity! It is an awe-inspiring sight to see eight fully grown male whales all come to the surface at once in a high speed race to defend their position next to a female. As the whales surfaced we saw bubble streams, lunge breaches and tail breaches as displays of virility and strength. We were also lucky enough to see a behavior called the “S curve” which is when a whale moving at high speed suddenly throws out their pectoral fins, effectively “slamming on the brakes”, and maneuvers to displace a challenging whale from their position next to the female. During one rowdy group encounter this week, two whales actually slammed into each other, dorsal to dorsal as they surfaced only a hundred feet from one of the tenders! Watery battles like this can go on for hours and it is common to see bloody tubercles and damaged dorsal fins as evidence that the fight was going on a lot longer before we came across them!

With the beautiful singer, the graceful dancers and the excitement of the rowdy groups, the week was made even more perfect by in-water encounters with a mother and calf and a pair of sleeping whales. Our guests really couldn’t have wished for a better week out on the Silver Bank!

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures
Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W7

March 5 – March 12, 2016
Week Seven of our 26th Season

Humpback whales are found in every major ocean on our planet and our guests this week were also once again drawn from far and wide to see the graceful giants of the Silver Bank, coming from as far as Germany, Switzerland and Russia as well as the relatively short hop down from the United States. As the new mothers and calves are preparing for their long journey up to the northern feeding grounds, we were treated on this seventh week of the season to plenty of exciting surface activity and in-water encounters from several sets of mums and babes.

Well over halfway through the season now and this year’s new calves are growing fast! Consuming approximately fifty gallons of milk a day, putting on 100 lbs and growing an inch a day, the tiny newborns are becoming big babies right before our eyes! Not only have we seen them grow dramatically over the past weeks but also have witnessed their increasing confidence; whereas before they would stick close to mum, they are now venturing further and further afield, playing and exploring the shallow calm waters of the Silver Bank and proving to be quite the handful for their mothers. Right from the start on day one this week we encountered a mother and calf fin slapping and lob tailing in the Caribbean sunshine.

As we watched from the tender, the excited youngster would breach further and further away from mum until eventually she would have to call the precocious calf back. To do this, the mother needs to create a loud sound; slapping their fins and flukes on the surface of the water will usually work but if the babe is lost in the excitement of their new found skills, only one action is going to be loud enough and that is the maneuver that Humpbacks are famous for, the breach! This mother found that two consecutive spinning head breaches, where she would lunge nearly her entire body out of the water, fling her pectoral fins out to spin and slap down on the surface, was just the right measure to alert her distracted calf while our lucky guests enjoyed the show from only a hundred feet away!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Second only to the spinning head breach for noise level is the chin breach. This breach is often carried out after a spinning head breach as it requires less energy but still makes an impressive impact. By lunging straight up out of the water until half the body is exposed and then folding forward whilst cupping their ventral pleats, a loud hollow sound is produced. We saw plenty of this behavior too this week.

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As the calves get stronger and are able to travel for longer periods, the mothers will start their migration north, and as the numbers of females here on the Silver Bank decrease, so the eagerness of the males to mate increases. With this higher ratio of males to females, the likelihood of finding rowdy groups improves. Mid week we encountered one such rowdy group made up of six individuals. In an impressive display of testosterone and virility, five male whales, looking to impress the lone female, lunge breached and tail breached in a high speed battle, on and below the surface. We watched for an hour and a half as the drama unfolded, but rowdy groups such as this can go on for many hours until one male finally secures position next to the female as her escort in the hope of mating with her.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

All this excitement top side was unaffected by increasing winds as the week went on but despite the choppy seas, our guests were still able to spend plenty of time in the water with the peaceful giants once they calmed down; twice with sleeping whales and again with two more mother and calf pairs.

After another week of beautiful sunrises and sunsets out on the Silver Bank, we return to the Dominican Republic to drop off our guests with their memories and hearts full of wonderful whale encounters and with a new appreciation for these most enigmatic and graceful creatures.

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures
Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W6

February 27 ~ March 5, 2016
Week Six of our 26th Season

The North Atlantic Humpback Whales travel great distances every year from the feeding grounds of the North East coast of the United States, Iceland, Newfoundland and even Norway to the Silver Bank, approximately 90 miles north of the Dominican Republic. Like many migrating animals the reason is unknown but is surely for a combination of benefitting factors such as a safe environment with no predators to give birth and rear their young and warm waters to rid themselves of the cold water parasites from northern seas. But no matter what the reason, thousands of whales make their way here, enduring weeks or months of fasting in order to do so. Those that are not giving birth this season will have only one thing on their minds and that is procreation. Adult male Humpbacks will travel here with the intention of mating with as many females as possible in order to pass their genes on to the next generation. Young males will travel here to learn from the older males and perfect their techniques in fighting in order to be able to compete with the older males when they return as sexually mature adults. The females, however, just need to get pregnant and once they do they will hastily return to the productive and nutrient rich waters of the north, but that is not to say that some won’t take their time in choosing a suitable mate!

Almost all of the Humpback whale behaviors we encounter on the Silver Bank are in some way associated with mating, whether it is soliciting for a mate by fin slapping or singing, asserting dominance over other whales in order to impress a potential mate by breaching and lob tailing or fighting to secure position next to a potential mate by warding off challenging whales.

So far this year we have been extremely lucky to encounter many whales displaying the behavior we associate with pre-mating courtship, dancing. And this sixth week of the season was exceptional! On three consecutive days we came across the same female, identifiable by a distinctive scar on her ventral side, and each time she was with a different escort! She was certainly taking her time allowing the male humpbacks of the Silver Bank to show off their stuff and prove to her that they should be the one she should choose. Each time we encountered the female she would begin her gentle and sultry display right under and around our tenders almost as if she were flirting with both the escort and us! Usually the male escort would simply tolerate her curiosity in us and stay with her but keep his distance, circling every so often to carry out a perimeter check for potential challenging males. However on one occasion the escort joined in with the playful female and once again we were treated to a rare and unique ballet where both male and female turned and pirouetted in unison. This graceful and beautiful display gave us a privileged insight into the whales’ private lives, not only allowing us to observe them passively in their own environment but also to be invited into their intimate performance as they interacted with us, expertly maneuvering and gliding through the water only a few feet from the awe-inspired guests. It was unanimous amongst the guests and crew alike that this last suitor, with his patience and artistic flare should be her choice of partner!

With Humpback whales being as large and powerful as they are; adults measuring between 40 and 45 feet in length and weighing in at between 30 and 40 tons, when interactions become a little heated, we of course cannot enter the water, content to enjoy the top-side show and awesome photographic opportunities. On one such occasion this week we encountered an amorous trio of whales where a female had attracted the attentions of two males. While the curious female stayed close to our tender, the escort and challenging whale displayed their prowess with tail slashes and trumpet blows much to the delight of our onlooking guests. A trumpet blow is when a whale constricts their blow holes whilst exhaling to produce a loud, hollow note to demonstrate power and aggression much like the roar of a lion or the trumpet of an elephant.

On top of all this action and romance, our already overjoyed passengers experienced great surface activity as well as the chance to spend time in the water with sleeping whales and two very special encounters with mothers and calves. It truly is a privilege every time a mother gains our confidence and allows us the great honor of watching over her calf while she rests below. If you were to ask for the most treasured memory of those who have been fortunate enough to be in the water with a humpback whale, the answer would undoubtedly be a mother and calf encounter. There is nothing quite like witnessing so intimately the bond between a new mum and babe.

This mother whale with the disfigured fluke has been identified as “Victim” from the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue. She is often sighted by whale watchers out of Bar Harbor, ME and Brier Island, Nova Scotia as well as on the Silver Bank, with her earliest sighting possibly in 1988! Recent sightings with a calf: 2011, 2014 & 2016 (Sighting data sourced from citizen science accounts on Facebook & Flikr)

**Whale ID update** On returning to port after this fabulous week we were able to get online and discovered that our beautiful dancing female that we spent so much time with this week could be positively identified as the same whale we encountered in week four, dancing with another escort! It would appear that she really is quite choosy! She has already been nicknamed (an official name has not been given to this particular whale) “Mojo” by whale watch operators out of Virginia Beach and has been sighted in Newfoundland since at least 2008! It’s so wonderful to make the connections, and know that our Silver Bank whales are making their migrations safely year after year! Here’s hoping that we see “Mojo” next year, perhaps with a new calf!

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures
Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W5

February 20 ~ February 27, 2016
Week Five of our 26th Season

Mid season on the Silver Bank and the whales are everywhere! It is thought that between five and seven thousand North Atlantic Humpback whales come and go through this area over the five month calving and breeding season and as time goes by we are seeing more and more new mothers and their babies. Newly born calves are able to swim, breathe and nurse but they stay very close to their mothers in these first few months while they build their confidence.

This week we encountered numerous mother and calf pairs and on a sunny Tuesday afternoon one mother whale in particular allowed us a wonderful in-water encounter with her and her babe. The mother and calf were accompanied by an escort and all three whales were completely relaxed and unfazed by the presence of our two tenders and excited snorkelers. While mother and escort rested below the surface at fifteen feet, the new babe, still perfecting her buoyancy, bobbed gently to the surface every five minutes or so to take a few breaths before returning to tuck neatly under mum’s pectoral fin or chin. The relaxed trio chose to stay with us for more than five hours allowing all of our guests their turn in sharing in this most tender and special encounter with these awe-inspiring mammals. In between snoozes, when the mother rose to take breaths, she would gently balance the babe over her head in a behavior called the nose push. This very intimate action is thought to be done directly after birth when the mother assists the calf to take her first breath and so must undoubtedly provide a comforting and bonding experience for the young whale and new mum. The encounter was made all the more special by a spectacular back drop of coral heads and crystal clear waters, very much appreciated by photographers in the group!

Although we are thankful for every encounter no matter how long or short, with mother and calf groups at every turn it almost seemed inevitable that we would have another chance to enter the water, and sure enough, we did! This time, as incredible as it sounds the whales actually chose us rather than the other way around! Whilst in the water with one mother/calf pair we were disheartened when they quickly moved away. However we soon discovered that the reason was because another mother/calf pair was making a bee-line for our tender and proceeded to settle right below us!! Not wanting to miss this opportunity given to us by the mother whale, we slipped into the water and had yet another beautiful encounter. This boisterous youngster was a little livelier than the last and playfully bobbed around on the surface showing off his new found moves as a budding acrobat of the sea. We can only assume that the new mother was glad to have her energetic boy kept entertained by us as much as we were entertained by him, while she napped peacefully below. After more than an hour with the two whales we exited the water for the last time and, as if in reward for our babysitting, the mother whale awoke and performed two consecutive spinning head breaches. A perfect end to a perfect day!

Along with the wonderful in-water encounters this week we also enjoyed dramatic top-side activity with two adult whales fin slapping for more than an hour and numerous opportunities to get that perfect fluke shot with lob-tailing whales.

And to top off another great charter we were extremely lucky one night to hear the lullaby of a singing whale through the hull of the mother ship while we all lay in our bunks!!! The chances of a whale happening to be right under the mother ship, singing at a time when the whole boat is quiet are so slim that the phenomenon is a very rare and special thing.

Seeing humpback whales in the water for the first time is an extremely emotional and memorable experience, and this week for three very talented guests the whales got their creative juices flowing! Thank you Cathleen, Allegra and Alicia for sharing your sketches, paintings and songs with us this week, all inspired by the beautiful Whales of the Silver Bank!

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures
Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W4

February 13 ~ February 20, 2016
Week Four of our 26th Season

In perfect timing for this Valentine’s Day week on the Silver Bank, love was definitely in the air! In a dramatic change in pace from the rowdy groups of the previous week, this week brought us stunningly beautiful displays of tenderness and affection from the Whales of the Silver Bank. On both the first and second day of the charter we encountered pairs of dancing whales. It is not known precisely what this most graceful of all humpback whale behavior means but it most certainly appears to be some kind of pre-mating courtship. During one of these very special encounters all the Aquatic Adventure guests were fortunate enough to witness the spectacular and yet extremely intimate show as a male and female slowly spun and maneuvered around each other. The whales appeared to incorporate the Aquatic Adventure tenders into their ballet as they approached each tender in turn while guests and crew alike looked on in wonder. The whales would hold elegant poses, nose to nose or back to back, vertical in the water with their pectoral fins outstretched and then over and over again they would gently rise above the surface in unison for perfectly choreographed double spy hops. Spy hopping is an intriguing behavior where the whale will emerge slowly from the water showing only the top of their head, sometimes as far as the eyes but not always. It is believed that this is done in order to gather environmental data using their tubercles, located on the top of the head and chin. Every tubercle contains a single short hair named the vibrissa that acts like a cat’s whisker and can detect atmospheric conditions like wind speed and direction or to check for top-side activity like whale watching boats! On this occasion the spy hopping, fluke raising and gentle fin slapping was all part of the dance.

©Heather Reser

©Heather Reser

Almost half the group this week were returning guests eager to experience the serenity and thrills of the Silver Bank Whales again. And for several lucky guests these dancing giants were their very first humpback whale sightings! Regardless of whether it was for the first, second or thirteenth time (!) all the guests felt privileged to have been able to enter the water with these graceful giants and share in this unique performance. The male and female stayed with our boats for more than three and a half hours, apparently enjoying the attention and happy to interact with the lucky snorkelers. After the whales allowing us so much time with them we decided to give the romantic couple some privacy and as we returned to the mother ship for a well earned lunch we were bid farewell with a finale of a spinning head breach!

With this encounter alone all of our guests would have gone home happy but the excitement didn’t end there. With more and more humpbacks traveling down from northern waters, coming here for calving and breeding, even in our little corner of the bank we saw whales at every turn. We had an extended in-water encounter for close to two hours with two sleeping whales and some spectacular top-side activity from a mother, calf and escort. The new baby, most likely only a few weeks old, but still measuring in at around fourteen feet long and weighing close to two tons, practiced their newly learnt behavior of lob tailing over and over again while the mother and escort swam on either side. When the escort and mother began fin slapping too we dropped back and enjoyed the show from a distance, not wanting to interfere in the young calf’s training! Over the next few weeks this season’s new calves will continue to develop their skills and build up their strength in preparation for when their mothers guide them on their long journey up to the northern feeding grounds. Until then, we can enjoy watching the babies as they grow up and look forward to seeing many more as the season goes on.

www.coastalstudies.org/aquaticadventures

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Written by: Pippa Swannell, Aquatic Adventures
Designed by: Heather Reser, Aquatic Adventures

Aquatic Adventures Whale Tales S26:W3

February 6 ~ February 13, 2016
Week Three of our 26th Season

As the sun rose over the horizon on the Silver Bank, so began our third week of the Humpback Whale season here in the Dominican Republic. Three of our guests this week had birthdays during the charter and what better way to celebrate your birthday than to be out on the open sea, watching The Whales of the Silver Bank in all their splendor!

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Spirits were high as the week kicked off with some spectacular surface activity from more than three different mother and calf pairs on our first day out on the tenders. Mothers and calves are often accompanied by an adult male whale, termed an Escort, that will swim alongside or in the general vicinity of the female in the hope of mating with her. Although an Escort would never normally show any aggression towards the female or her calf, their presence can sometimes be an irritation to a mother whose only focus is to wean and teach her newborn. If other males challenge the escort’s position, the resulting heated battles between the escort and challengers can be stressful for the new mum and babe. On this first morning of whale watching the mother and calf pairs that we encountered were unencumbered by escorts and appeared to be relaxed and happy in the Dominican sunshine. The first juvenile we observed was full of the joys of spring, practicing their newly learnt postures and poses with multiple chin breaches and full body breaches, over and over again with seemingly unending energy! This provided fantastic photographic opportunities for our guests and as both mother and baby began to calm down and rest we were able to enter the water and capture priceless images and memories of the two whales as they cruised under the tender, mere feet below the snorkelers at the surface.

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The lucky guests had many opportunities throughout the week to experience the whales up close and personal. We had more in-water encounters with mothers and calves and some spectacular surface activity from rowdy groups. One of the rowdy groups consisted of six whales; a mother, calf, escort and three challenging males vying for the attentions of the female. A maelstrom of fin slapping, lob-tailing, breaching and lunging, often only 10 or 20 feet from the tender! After all that excitement we had a wonderful chance to really appreciate the gentle giants with both tenders getting to spend nearly an hour in the water with a pair of sleeping adults, observing from only a few feet away as the sleepy marine mammals gracefully made their way to the surface to breathe every 25 minutes or so.

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The highlight of the week for many of our guests and crew alike was the chance to hear a singing whale for the second week in a row! While exiting the water after a fly-by with a mother, calf and escort, one of our whale crew recognized the distinctive whoops and squeals of a singing whale some distance away. After some exploratory dips in the area by Aquatic Adventures team member of 13 years, Lorenzo Martinez – the human hydrophone! – we were able to pin-point the singer’s exact location and spend several minutes in the water with the musical whale before he moved on to serenade in another area of the Silver Bank.

Our last afternoon out on the water brought some wet and windy weather but this deterred neither the guests nor the whales and we were treated to the awesome sight of a triple full-body breach by three adult whales providing an impressive finale for the week!

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