Aloha,
It was another windy day on Wednesday, and it was a great day for whale watching. On our Wake up with the Whales Cruise, we saw more than 25 different Humpbacks. Pod size varied…and so did activity. We saw breaches, pec slapping, peduncle throwing and all kinds of head lunging. We also saw a whale tail lobbing repetitively — more than 60 times by our count.
Mahalo,
Claire
Captain Claire’s Humpback Fact of the Day: Researchers off the coast of Brazil have discovered that some marine mammals including Humpbacks may have up to 14 spleens. Among other functions, the spleen stores red blood cells (which store oxygen)…so an extra spleen may help a deep diving animal stay underwater longer. These spleens can contract during a dive releasing fresh blood with oxygenated red blood cells to keep the whale’s important organs alive and functioning. 14 spleens?!