Gorda Banks
Today we continued our search for the Great Whales in the Cape Region of the Peninsula near Gorda Banks, an area of shallow offshore banks. These produce upwelling of nutrient rich water from deep in the ocean, which in turn produces rich surface concentrations of food which attract many fishes and marine mammals. This is one of the areas to which humpback whales migrate in winter from their summer feeding grounds to mate and to give birth to their calves. At first light we encountered a group of a female and calf accompanied by an “escort” male. These males will swim next to females in the hope of a breeding opportunity and will fight off other males who try to claim the primary escort position. Later we saw several more pairs and solitary animals. One of the solitary animals was singing the long and haunting humpback song, and we listened with our hydrophone as he continued his lilting communication. A bit later we encountered another solitary animal flapping his long flippers and beating his tail flukes on the surface. As we approached, he began to breach, launching his entire 40-ton body into the air. While much speculation has addressed the purposes of this behavior, energetic analyses show that the effort involved is extremely small. This suggests that the whales may simply do it because it feels good and not for any fitness enhancing purpose. Our entire experience with these wonderful humpback whales inspired in us awe and appreciation and has brought us all closer to these gentle giants.
Today we continued our search for the Great Whales in the Cape Region of the Peninsula near Gorda Banks, an area of shallow offshore banks. These produce upwelling of nutrient rich water from deep in the ocean, which in turn produces rich surface concentrations of food which attract many fishes and marine mammals. This is one of the areas to which humpback whales migrate in winter from their summer feeding grounds to mate and to give birth to their calves. At first light we encountered a group of a female and calf accompanied by an “escort” male. These males will swim next to females in the hope of a breeding opportunity and will fight off other males who try to claim the primary escort position. Later we saw several more pairs and solitary animals. One of the solitary animals was singing the long and haunting humpback song, and we listened with our hydrophone as he continued his lilting communication. A bit later we encountered another solitary animal flapping his long flippers and beating his tail flukes on the surface. As we approached, he began to breach, launching his entire 40-ton body into the air. While much speculation has addressed the purposes of this behavior, energetic analyses show that the effort involved is extremely small. This suggests that the whales may simply do it because it feels good and not for any fitness enhancing purpose. Our entire experience with these wonderful humpback whales inspired in us awe and appreciation and has brought us all closer to these gentle giants.
