Ever tried to tell a 40-70 ton animal where to go? If so, you probably know it didn't listen and it went wherever it wanted. That was the case today. The whales we had yesterday decided to move further south, increasing our already-long commute by at least 3 miles. I am still amazed that we can drive over 30 miles of ocean and see nothing on the surface, and then suddenly be surrounded by nearly a dozen whales.
Today our long drive was well worth it! We got great looks at 2 fin whales and a humpback whale, and also had several minke whales all around us. A third fin whale was in the distance and it seemed like the whale activity was everywhere we looked!
The first fin whale was a huge surprise- it was one of our Adopt-a-Whales, Fjord! This whale is known to show up early in the season, and then occasionally later in the season. We only saw him once this year so far and that was way back on May 19! Welcome back Fjord!!
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| Fjord's obvious fin |
The next fin whale was a bit of a puzzle- I knew we had seen this whale in prior seasons but couldn't positively ID her without the catalog in hand. Later in the day, after checking the catalog, I identified this whale as #0417- a female that we first saw in 2004. Although we have never seen her with a calf to verify her gender, our research colleagues told us she has calved in 2003 and 2008!
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| Fin whale #0417's beautiful blaze! |
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| Fin whale #0417 |
As we left the fin whales, we saw several minkes all around and then another species of whale- a humpback was in the neighborhood too!! Nile is still in the area and we got great looks at her today!
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| The "big-winged New Englander" |
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| Diving |
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| Nile's fin and tag scar |
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| Nile! |
Although our time was limited, Captain Chris did a great job at safely working around the whales to give us the best possible looks. Again, we apologize for the long ride and late arrival home, but when in whale-land, we need to go with the flow! Nature always keeps us on our toes, and in the end Nature will always win!
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