Photos Whale Photos |
|
|
|
Photos Whale Photos |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Impressive snorkel tour on March 27, 2007 |
Thanks to Kent we got these wonderful photos |
Kent was snorkeling off Ukumehame and the whales came right up to him |
Leviathon Grace |
| The three great shots on the right are courtesy of dolphinmana.com |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
This mom came up right beside our boat |
Dorsal fin up close |
This behavior is called a 'spy hop' |
These knobs are on top of the head and on the lower jaw |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Whale baby practising breaching |
Mom performing a 'full breach'; nearly 30 tons completely out of the water |
The babies sometimes practise 15 to 20 times in a row |
Mom and baby both on their side 'waving' with their pec fins |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
There are also knobs along the leading edges of the flipper |
The flipper is exceptionally long: up to 15 feet! |
Mom performing a so called 'head lunge' |
On it's back waving with both pec fins - usually seen in the breading grounds |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
'Peduncle slap' in front of Lanai |
Tail and nearly half of it's body is thrown out of the water |
Baby, mom and escort diving down in the evening sun |
The underside of the fluke is always unique |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
'Tail slaps' can be heard in the far distance - above and beneath the surface |
They are slapping their fluke with high force on the water |
Fluke in front of the West Maui |
The underside of the fluke is as distinctive as a human fingerprint |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Very rare behavior in the breading grounds: mom showing her baleen plates |
The fluke can get about 14 feet wide |
They use the 'spy hop' to explore the area above the surface |
...it's not only the whales... this is the fin of a hammerhead shark |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Humpback mom with her newborn |
Two humpbacks competing for a female |
The characteristic 'hump' |
Humpback whales are identified by their flukes |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
The humpback is lying on it's side, 'waving' with it's flipper |
Two boys trying to impress a girl... |
Flipper |
Diving into the deep... |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
The flippers also differs from whale to whale |
A full breach in front of Lahaina |
Head slap |
Breach in front of the West Maui Mountains |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A newborn coming up for breathing |
Diving beneath our boat... |
Blowhole up close |
Whalewatching par excellence... |
The underwater-photos are courtesy of Monica Sweet - thank you! See more of her amazing work at: www.gallerysweet.com |
|||
 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
