Humpbacks Charge Past the Boat
Aloha and Mele Kalikimaka!
Guests on Friday’s Wake up with the Whales Cruise experienced some windy, choppy seas, but also got some great views of a pod of 2 Humpbacks in front of the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort. We even got to see one of their flukes as they sounded.
After we returned from this cruise, we boarded guests for our Snorkel & Whale Watch Adventure Cruise. This time we got to see our first competitive pod of the season. We watched several whales chasing around at the surface (when the whales are moving that fast, that erratically, AND it’s windy, it’s really difficult to count accurately). We watched them all surface and spout heavily a couple of times, and got to see some of their flukes as they sounded a couple of times…but we lost them when they continued up the coast and we stopped to snorkel.
Mahalo,
Claire
Ocean Sports Whale Fact of the Day: When we watch a competitive pod of whales who are active on the surface, we assume the pod is comprised of one female either leading or being chased by a group of males. It often appears that every male is competing with every other male for access to the female. Recently researchers have observed that male humpbacks may form coalitions, working together to corral the female so that one may have easier access to her.