Who Is Watching Who?
This morning was the first day of our expedition. What a day! Our plan was to seek out humpback whales and along the way take care of mandatory shipboard drills and plans for the next few days. We happened upon 4 logging whales resting at the surface after a long night of feeding. The first hour was interesting, but not exciting. Then things not only got exciting, but extraordinary. After that they turned from extraordinary to amazing. From there it was outstanding, incredible, unbelievable, and astounding. The only adjective not used and probably the most appropriate was "indescribable".
The use of all these words is necessary in an attempt to describe the feeling we all had as one of the humpback whales did what all of us secretly wish that all wild animals, especially those we favor, would do. Recognize our presence and reach out to us. That is being friendly.
After approaching the ship the whale went from one side to the other, for well over an hour, announcing its presence with a great blast from his spout. Some of us had to clean whale snot from our clothes and cameras. Even though the odor was not pleasant the gesture was sweet. It was quite amusing to watch as the whale trained us to run from side to side in anticipation of its next move. As a call came from the starboard we raced over to see the great black beast deftly wave its massive pectoral flippers as it moved under the bow only to resurface on the port side right next to the ship. As it rolled over and spyhopped, we cheered and looked in vain for a wide-angle lens or more film. If we ran out of film it was just as well, this is the type of experience that your eye should have without a viewfinder in the way.
In the marine mammal world there are friendly gray whales in Mexico, friendly bottlenose and spotted dolphins in the Atlantic, and friendly pilot whales in parts of the Pacific. It is only recently that reports of friendly humpback whales have come from Hawaii, Baja California and Alaska. This is even more amazing when you consider that humans hunted the humpbacks, whittling their numbers down to just a few thousand.
When this 40-ton animal reached out to us we heard its blow, saw its body, and smelled and felt its exhalation. What will we take with us in memory besides that sensory input? Hopefully a greater appreciation for the power of being friendly.
This morning was the first day of our expedition. What a day! Our plan was to seek out humpback whales and along the way take care of mandatory shipboard drills and plans for the next few days. We happened upon 4 logging whales resting at the surface after a long night of feeding. The first hour was interesting, but not exciting. Then things not only got exciting, but extraordinary. After that they turned from extraordinary to amazing. From there it was outstanding, incredible, unbelievable, and astounding. The only adjective not used and probably the most appropriate was "indescribable".
The use of all these words is necessary in an attempt to describe the feeling we all had as one of the humpback whales did what all of us secretly wish that all wild animals, especially those we favor, would do. Recognize our presence and reach out to us. That is being friendly.
After approaching the ship the whale went from one side to the other, for well over an hour, announcing its presence with a great blast from his spout. Some of us had to clean whale snot from our clothes and cameras. Even though the odor was not pleasant the gesture was sweet. It was quite amusing to watch as the whale trained us to run from side to side in anticipation of its next move. As a call came from the starboard we raced over to see the great black beast deftly wave its massive pectoral flippers as it moved under the bow only to resurface on the port side right next to the ship. As it rolled over and spyhopped, we cheered and looked in vain for a wide-angle lens or more film. If we ran out of film it was just as well, this is the type of experience that your eye should have without a viewfinder in the way.
In the marine mammal world there are friendly gray whales in Mexico, friendly bottlenose and spotted dolphins in the Atlantic, and friendly pilot whales in parts of the Pacific. It is only recently that reports of friendly humpback whales have come from Hawaii, Baja California and Alaska. This is even more amazing when you consider that humans hunted the humpbacks, whittling their numbers down to just a few thousand.
When this 40-ton animal reached out to us we heard its blow, saw its body, and smelled and felt its exhalation. What will we take with us in memory besides that sensory input? Hopefully a greater appreciation for the power of being friendly.
