Monday, December 11, 2006

First Humpback Whale calf of the 2006/2007 season!!



December 11, 2006

Here in Hawaii the Humpback Whales are beginning to return to the islands. The first sighting that I know of was off Maui by a fishing vessel on October 12, 2006. Today I had my first encounter with a new Humpback Whale calf! She was very curious about the boat and approached several times with her mother to inspect us. A close look at her head reveals that she has many cyamid lice around the mouthline and blow holes. She even attempted to breach, though the effort was far from perfect! More practice is necessary to really catch air. Ahhhhh...The first Humpback Whale calf I have photographed of the model year 2006...And what a beauty she is!







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