With whales spending 90% of their time underwater, one of the biggest challenges for a whale behaviorist is to actually see them! Thanks to your generous support, we are now on the cusp of new discoveries into the underwater social lives of whales on the breeding grounds.The warm, clear waters …
All About Whales
2017: A Critical Year for Humpbacks in Hawaii
Next year (2017) may go down as one of the most critical years for humpback whale research in Hawaii in the last fifty years. For the first time since 1966 when whaling was deemed illegal in the North Pacific, humpbacks will no longer be considered an endangered species trying to come back from the …
[Read more...] about 2017: A Critical Year for Humpbacks in Hawaii
How to Identify Whales
Humpback whales are easily identified based on the markings of the underside of the tail fluke. A photograph of these markings provides a permanent identification (ID) record of an individual whale.So How Do We Tell the Whales Apart? A whale’s tail ranges from all black to all white to any …
What Do We Know About Whale Societies?
Our knowledge of humpback whale societies is still rudimentary. Most humpback whale social groups are believed to be short-lived, with the longest known bond occurring between a mother and calf. However, there are some hints of a deeper complexity that await further study. For example, males may …
Humpback Migration to Hawaiian Breeding Grounds
Each year, tens of thousands of whales travel thousands of miles from their summer feeding grounds to winter breeding grounds. Hawaii, and most abundantly the shallow waters between Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and Maui, is the largest breeding ground for North Pacific whales, most of whom are coming …
[Read more...] about Humpback Migration to Hawaiian Breeding Grounds
What Are Cetaceans?
Whales, dolphins and porpoises are all grouped together under one taxonomic order called Cetacea.Diversity is perhaps the most striking hallmark of the cetaceans, with over eighty different species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises recognized today. Cetaceans range in size from the small …