humpback whales – Syndication Server

Humpback whale and calf provide rare thrill for Maui snorkelers

Footage shows the “surprise guests” approaching the swimmers at a popular dive spot before heading back to deeper water.

In Hawaii, it’s against the law to approach whales in an attempt to swim with the mammals. But every now and then, whales do the approaching when boats are idle and people are already in the water.

The accompanying footage shows a momma humpback whale and her calf swimming briefly with snorkelers at Molokini, a popular dive spot near Maui.

The footage also features the wonderful reactions of those aboard the Pride of Maui vessel, as both whales seem to inspect the snorkelers before swimming to deeper water.

Make sure you watch until the end! We had surprise guests snorkeling with us today at Molokini!! Mahalo to our crew for capturing this rare moment! 🐋🐋 #molokini #molokinicrater #maui #mauihi #whalewatching pic.twitter.com/6kXaVRMT6x

— Pride of Maui (@prideofmaui) March 2, 2024

“We had surprise guests snorkeling with us today at Molokini!” the Pride of Maui exclaimed Sunday. “Mahalo to our crew for capturing this rare moment!”

The footage shows the baby whale surfacing to breathe, but its exhalations are too weak to form a spout of mist.

The Pride of Maui encouraged viewers to watch to the end because that’s when momma whale provides the telltale “blow” as she takes a deep breath before diving.

Thousands of humpback whales are in Hawaiian waters for the breeding and calving season, which runs through May.

Whales steal spotlight (again) at legendary Hawaiian surf spot

Footage showing humpback whales breaching while a young surfer drops into a wave at Waimea Bay is reminiscent of an even more extraordinary scene in 2014.

The accompanying footage shows an 11-year-old surfing at Waimea Bay, but perhaps more impressive is the sight of humpback whales breaching in the background.

“Young Kalama Stratton is putting in his time at Waimea Bay with a few whales breaching out the back,” The Inertia described Tuesday on Instagram.

Two distant whales are shown leaping, one after the other, as Stratton drops in at the legendary big-wave destination on Oahu’s North Shore.

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The clip is somewhat reminiscent of an extraordinary scene memorialized 10 years ago up the coast at Pipeline.

The top image, captured in 2014 by J.T. Gray of North Shore Surf Photos, shows a humpback whale mother and calf riding a wave just beneath the surface.

“The whales were 75 to 100 yards east of Pipeline and playing for a while, then swam to about 10 yards outside of the lineup,” Gray explained at the time. “A set came in and the bodyboarder caught the first wave, and the humpbacks caught the second.”

Image captured in 2014 by ©J.T. Gray/North Shore Surf Photos

While humpback whale sightings are common at this time of year, the gregarious mammals are rarely spotted in the surf.

Said Gray:“Whales frequent Hawaii in the winter months, but never that close to shore.”

Humpback whale soaks tourists during friendly ‘mugging’ session

Humpback whales are migrating through Southern California waters and the more fortunate observers are enjoying extremely close encounters with the gregarious mammals.

Humpback whales are migrating through Southern California waters and the more fortunate observers are enjoying extremely close encounters.

The accompanying footage, showing a humpback whale using its flukes to fling water onto tourists, was captured by Capt. Delaney Trowbridge.

Trowbridge, who works for Pacific Offshore Expeditions and Newport Coastal Adventures, described Friday’s encounter via Facebook:

“I had one of the best humpback encounters of my career yesterday! A pair of humpback whales curiously investigated and played with our boat for nearly 3 HOURS.

“They were pushing the boat around, making crazy vocalizations, and spyhopping a bunch. I’ve never experienced a ‘mugging’ as intense as this one before!”

Mugging behavior involves whales swimming next to boats as if to inspect their occupants. Spyhopping is a technique used by whales to check out their above-surface surroundings.

Humpback whales are famous for these types of “friendly” behavior.

Trowbridge continued: “An encounter like this cannot be forced. The whales approached us, not the other way around. Follow local viewing distance guidelines when watching whales and remain in neutral if approached.”

The California population of humpback whales migrates to calving and mating areas of Mexico during the fall and early winter. This appears to be prime time to observe the mammals off Southern California.

Watch: Red-footed booby grabs spotlight on whale-watching trip

Whale watchers in California’s Monterey Bay on Tuesday happily made way for a red-footed booby as the seabird landed on the rail as if to become just another passenger.

**UPDATE: The red-footed booby was on the same vessel, High Spirits, again Wednesday. Click here to view some wonderful images and learn the booby’s nickname.

Whale watchers in California’s Monterey Bay on Tuesday happily made way for a red-footed booby as the rare seabird landed on the rail as if to become just another passenger.

“A juvenile red-footed booby landed on the boat today. So we took it whale watching,” Katlyn Taylor, a naturalist for Blue Ocean Whale Watch, wrote in her Facebook video description.

In Taylor’s video, posted below, and in Capt. Kate Cummings’ Instagram video, the seabird casually preens as if not bothered by the presence of people, as humpback whales lunge-feed beyond the bow.

The passengers, giving the booby space, are perhaps more in awe of the exotic visitor than they are of the whales, which are common in Monterey Bay.

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Red-footed boobies nest on tropical islands and atolls, so Monterey is far beyond their typical range.

Cummings told FTW Outdoors that she had encountered only one other red-footed booby in Monterey Bay, in 2018, before Tuesday’s encounter.

“It hitched a ride into Moss Landing Harbor on a fishing boat and died a few days later,” Cummings recalled. “But the booby we had [Tuesday] seemed healthy and active, as it was seen plunge-diving for anchovies, successfully, and was preening on our boat.”

Red-footed boobies, named because of the striking coloration of their feet, prey on fish and squid and hunt by flying slowly above the surface.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the seabirds are known to rest on ships as they hunt in open water.

The Lab’s website states: “Individuals may ride on a ship, or fly alongside it, and when flying fish take to the air in front of the vessel, the booby flies swiftly toward it, catching it in the bill. Red-footed boobies also congregate around actively feeding fish such as tuna, which drive small fish toward the surface.”

On Tuesday, the booby appeared to have benefited from whales dispersing massive schools of anchovies.

Watch: Humpback whales crash family picnic in ‘unreal’ fashion

A family from Hoonah, Alaska, drove to False Bay recently for a picnic, unaware that acrobatic whales would provide thrilling entertainment.

A family from Hoonah, Alaska, drove to False Bay recently for a picnic, unaware that acrobatic whales would be providing the entertainment.

The accompanying footage, captured July 31 by Jessie Wright, shows five humpback whales breaching almost simultaneously as Wright’s mom exclaims, “Oh my God!” (There’s also a moment with saltier language.)

Wright was with her mother, two children (Deborah and Hayden) and their cousin throughout a spectacle that Wright described as “unreal.”

“The whales were even talking to each other,” she told FTW Outdoors. “It was an experience of a lifetime and at the ages of 15 and 13, my kids got to enjoy an experience that many [other kids] haven’t.”

Hoonah is on Chichagof Island on Alaska’s panhandle, 30 miles west of Juneau, surrounded by the Tongass National Forest.

Wright said of the breaching whales: “There were two more that jumped before I got what was on the video. But there were a ton of whales out there, and they would randomly jump for like 40 minutes after that video.”

Synchronized feeding? Whales wow tourists with stunning display

Passengers aboard a California whale-watching vessel on Tuesday watched in wonder as four humpback whales breached in unison while feeding on small fish.

The accompanying footage, captured by Johanna Domise of Monterey Bay Whale Watch, shows the whales engaging in vertical lunge-feeding behavior.

The vessel was in neutral when the dramatic close encounter occurred, according to the company, which exclaimed on Facebook:

“Humpback whales can eat up to 2 million calories per day! In this video, you can see the whale’s throat pleats expanding, taking in up to 5,000 gallons of water while feeding!”

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Humpback whales, which can weigh more than 50 tons, are commonly encountered in Monterey Bay. They’re known for their spectacular breaches, close approaches, and the voracious manner by which they feed.

It’s not rare to capture vertical lunge feeding on video, but it’s not common to capture footage showing four whales exhibiting this behavior at almost precisely the same moment.

Watch: Whales thrill boaters with rare synchronized behavior

Passengers on a weekend charter out of Queensland, Australia, were treated to a rare triple spyhop by humpback whales in a behavior that almost seemed choreographed.

The accompanying footage, captured by Blue Dolphin Marine Tours in Hervey Bay, shows the whales poking their heads out of the water moments before Capt. Peter Lynch predicts the event by announcing, “One, two, three… Spyhop!”

The company’s Facebook description reads: “Gold, Silver and Bronze for the Humpback Team. We were all a little excited at seeing the triple spyhop. We all had a great day.”

Lynch, owner of Blue Dolphin Marine Tours, told FTW Outdoors that from the vessel’s roof, “I could see them lining up and then they popped up together. [But] I wasn’t sure they would all come up like that.”

Humpback whales are known to approach whale-watching boats in a behavior called mugging. Spyhopping affords the curious mammals a means of viewing their surroundings with their heads out of the water.

The behavior is fairly common, but a triple spyhop at almost precisely the same moment is not commonly observed.

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Whale mugs for photographer, but somebody else nabs the epic shot

A photographer in California’s Monterey Bay last Saturday encountered two humpback whales that circled and “danced” around his boat for 30 minutes.

“Definitely a day I will never forget!” Slater Moore Photography wrote on Instagram.

But the epic shot – showing Moore dwarfed by the towering fluke of one of the whales – was snapped by the captain of a nearby vessel.

Capt. Tim Zoliniak of Sea Goddess Whale Watching captured the extraordinary image atop this post and another showing Moore and a partial fluke as the whale dipped beneath the surface.

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“We had about 100 people on board and they were pretty vocal and excited,” Zoliniak told FTW Outdoors. “After the whales were done with Slater they spent a few minutes with us.”

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Moore said his engine was not running throughout the encounter – in accordance with NOAA Fisheries guidelines – and Zoliniak said he tried to maintain a 100-yard distance (never easy with friendly whales).

Humpback whales are actively feeding on anchovies in Monterey Bay and their lunge-feeding behaviors can be spectacular.

But Moore told FTW Outdoors that the two whales that mugged for him were simply curious and playful. “They circled my boat for about a half-hour,” he said. “They kept going under my boat then to the back and front and just dancing around.”

He was shooting in video mode and shared his footage via Instagram (posted below).

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A post shared by Slater Moore (@slatermoorephotography)

“I was on my way in from a ‘slower’ day of whale watching, lots of whales just not a lot of active behavior and then everything changed,” he wrote. “This whale’s fluke was towering over me!”

Moore said his wide-angle lens “did not do [the encounter] justice.” But he’s undoubtedly thankful that Zoliniak was positioned to help immortalize the moment.

Epic humpback whale images captured before Sydney’s lockdown

As a renowned marine wildlife photographer, Rachelle Mackintosh eagerly awaited the arrival of humpback whales in mid-May off Sydney, Australia.

The season opened May 20 as the first whales – migrating northward from Antarctica to Queensland – announced their presence with spectacular breaches and other surface behaviors.

Mackintosh, shooting from Go Whale Watching vessels, filled her Instagram page with images that capture the power and grace of these 40-ton leviathans until June 26, when another COVID-19 lockdown was imposed throughout Sydney.

“Which is basically when the northbound migration begins to peak,” Mackintosh told For The Win Outdoors. “Other places on our state’s coastline are still able to go out and watch the migration, but for those of us in the city it’s all-day pajamas and watching Netflix for our wildlife fix.”

As Sydney awaits an impending decision by the New South Wales premier whether to end or extend the lockdown, Mackintosh agreed to allow some of her images captured pre-lockdown to be showcased in this post.

“This year we’re expecting 35,000 to 40,000 whales to pass by the city, first heading north from Antarctica between May and July and then passing by us again from late August to November as they journey back to Antarctica,” the photographer explained.

“So yeah, there’s still plenty of time to see them BUT this part of the migration is super exciting because it’s when the competition/heat runs are going off, as the males get their biff on and the ladies make the fellas work for the opportunity to breed with them.

“It’s always a hormone rush for the whales and an adrenaline rush for us humans to see it. Knowing they’re out there partying while we can’t really leave the house is making me itchy.”

Mackintosh typically shoots four days a week, but inclement whether kept the boats in the docks for several days before the lockdown.

The accompanying images were captured during the 15 days she was able to be on the water.

Spectacular whale images captured from bathroom window

A California photographer who shared some of his most spectacular whale images Thursday let his followers in on an intriguing secret.

A California photographer who shared some of his most spectacular whale images Wednesday let his followers in on an intriguing secret.

Doug Croft, who works for Blue Ocean Whale Watch out of Moss Landing in Monterey Bay, confessed that the images accompanying his Facebook post were not captured from either of the vessel’s two decks – but from its restroom.

“When I’m deck boss, I spend my time on the main deck [with passengers],” Croft wrote. “When I’m on the boat for fun, I spend a lot of time below deck, in the head. The porthole in the bathroom severely restricts field-of-view, but the low-to-the-water perspective more than makes up for it.”

The image atop this post was captured in April 2019, when a 40-ton humpback whale breached only 15 yards from the stern of a small boat as its captain trolled for salmon. The massive cetacean fell backwards, away from the fortunate angler.

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The second image, showing surface-feeding humpbacks close to the coast, won the 2018 NOAA Get Into Your Sanctuary Photo Contest. The third, showing a lone breaching humpback whale in a graceful arch, was displayed in the State Capitol in Sacramento and featured in Outdoor California Magazine.

Croft allowed For The Win Outdoors to feature his images in this post.

Regulars aboard Blue Ocean’s vessel, High Spirits, know to bring their cameras into the head while answering nature’s call.

Kate Cummings, captain and naturalist, told For The Win Outdoors that the narrow porthole affords a unique perspective because it’s so low to the water.

“It’s also more satisfying when you nail a shot from the head, considering the added challenge of shooting through such a small area. You also can’t beat the comical bragging rights.”

Croft’s Facebook post generated several comments, including one that he jokingly wrote: “If I were designing a whale-watch boat, it would have multiple bathroom windows.”

High Spirits is a 60-foot twin-deck vessel that’s presently running with limited loads, in compliance with COVID-19 restrictions.

Humpback whales, along with a vast array of other marine mammal species, are commonly spotted in Monterey Bay.

–Images courtesy of Doug Croft