Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga - Humpback Whale & Calf

Humpback Whale Mother & Calf

Humpback whale calves are small in comparison to their mother.  After much searching back and forth amongst the islands we have found a mother a calf. The calf is small, playful and inquisitive of anything new to its surrounding environment.  We watch as the calf, which is not more than a week old, attempt to breach beside its mother.  The technique has not yet been learned correctly and the small whale tires quickly after several failed attempts. 

LEFT: Baby humpback whale keeps close to mother as we photograph the couple.

Quietly we slip into the  water and float towards the mother and calf; we are conscious that our presence may disturb the couple so we keep together as a group of four.  Mother doesn’t appear to be concerned and her eye is barely open, a sign that she is not overly stressed, as such we swim a little closer.  The youngster is behind mother and well protected.  We had noted earlier when on the boat, that the mother would always try and position herself between us and her baby.

LEFT: Female Humpback Whale pivots and swims in our direction to manouer between us and the yougster.

We couldn’t see the baby although we knew it was on the far side of the mother whale, then we watched as the baby nosed under the head of mother looking at us inquisitively.  Baby , apparently curious then swam out from behind the protection of mother and swam briefly in our direction.  Mother, concerned at her youngster’s obvious lack of caution, pivoted her body toward us and slowly swam toward and past us with her calf swimming alongside.

Although the interaction between us and the two whales was not lengthy, it was long enough to allow  us to capture a few frames which show the strong bonding and parental obligation of the mother whale towards its newborn.

The biological investment in a whale’s calf, like many mammals is high.  A female whale will have a gestation period of 12 months and after birth, the newborn calf will spend a year with its mother and accompany her south to the feeding grounds in Antarctica.  Until it is large enough and adequately proficient at feeding on krill, the baby whale will be sustained on an exceptionally rich formula of whale milk.  The milk is saturated in high protein fats (45-60% fat) that allows the youngster to build up the thick layer of blubber required for to survive in the colder waters of Antarctica.

Distinctive Colour & Tonal Variance

It was interesting to note that each calf had a slightly different colour and pattern of counter shading.  The colour of one calf was a very deep mottled black with a high contrast line between the white of its belly and its flank.  Its pectoral fins were jet black – both dorsally and ventrally.  In comparison, another calf I observed was almost grey in colour with very little tonal difference between its flank and white belly; watching this calf swim, it looked much paler than others I had seen.  The pectoral fins on this youngster were grey dorsally with white undersides.  I was to learn that each pattern is distinctive to each individual and can often be used as method of identification, similar to the tell tail signature of various patterns on tail flutes.

Shark Watch

Whales are often accompanied by dolphins, remora fish and sharks.  The sharks hang around female whales awaiting the birth; hopefully then they may have a chance to either feed on the placenta (after birth) or feed upon a new born calf.  On all our dives, care was maintained to watch for tiger and oceanic white tip sharks, these two species being the most common to escort whales in this area.  In 2009, several tiger sharks were observed feeding on a dead whale calf that had been still born.  Although we were keen to see the tiger sharks, we realized that in all probability the chance was minimal. 

LEFT: Humpback Whale and calf.

Humpback Whale Fact Sheet

Latin Name: - Megaptera novaeangliae

Conservation Status: - Vulnerable

Distribution: - Worldwide

Length: - 13 – 15 m (43 - 49 feet)

Weight: - 22680 – 36287 kg (25 – 40 tons)

Life Expectancy: - around 77 years

Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga - Pregnant Humpback Whale & Mid Wife

Pregnant Whale Upside Down - Birthing Position?

Cruising between two small islands, a whale was seen hanging upside down, it’s tail was above the water and its body was perpendicular to the surface.  We cut the boat’s engines and drifted closer to the whale before deciding to slip over the side.  Unfortunately, the underwater visibility on this day was not spectacular and the water appeared a dull blue rather than the normal indigo hue.  Our whale guide thought the whale maybe sleeping, however, on closer observation it was discovered that the whale was a heavily pregnant female.  Was the whale hanging upside down to sleep or to provide a better position to give birth?  Brief research indicates that humpback whales, when about to birth, manoeuvre their bodies vertically in  the water to aid in the birthing process, as this position allows the new born calf the greatest opportunity to reach the surface quickly to take its first breath of fresh air.

LEFT:  Although not absolutely sure, there was a strong possibility that this whale was pregnant and about to give birth.  Although not possible to see in this image, it appeared that the vaginal opening was slightly swollen indicating that birth would be  relatively soon.  Another whale (mid wife) was circling near by and often would approach the inverted whale to make head contact.

Second Whale – Mid wife?

We dived with the pregnant female for around 30 minutes before noting that another whale, perhaps a male escort or a whale charged with midwife duties, was swimming around the female.  At first we had failed to see this whale as they can blend exceptionally well with the open water when at the extent of our vision. 

LEFT:  The second humpback whale approaches us closely.  Was this whale the mid wife or just another male waiting to mate with the female after giving birth.  It's behavioural moments like this which interest me the most.

Although the second whale was curious to our presence, it maintained its distance and proximity to the female.  Eventually, both whales tired of our “company” and swam slowly away.  Tempted to follow, we decided that to do so would verge on harassment towards the whale, we were happy to have spent the hour or so swimming with this whale, approaching close enough to touch her (although we didn’t touch), so we turned the boat in another direction in search of further photographic fodder.

Huge Size – Minimal Danger

To swim with such a large mammal is a memorable experience, not so much because it’s a whale and is an intelligent animal, but more because of the size of the animal.  Often when photographing the whales, I would stop looking through my wide angle viewfinder to note in amazement that the whale was only a meter (3 feet) or so from me.   

LEFT: The massive flukes of female humpback whale dwarf those of a newborn youngster as they swim past me in Vavu'a in the Kingdom of Tonga.  You can almost hear the baby whale saying to mother "look mum I can swim like you"

At no time during any of the encounters did I feel in danger, although I will admit that on a few occasions I did feel some trepidation, especially when I had accidentally positioned myself over a tail.  I remember vividly the pressure wave from the tail of a whale as it propelled itself forward.  To be struck by a tail or pectoral fin, would no doubt cause injury. 

LEFT: Note the round pattern on the underside of the flukes.  These are bites from cookie cutter sharks.  These deep water sharks bite into the flesh then spiral their bodies to remove a donut-shaped piece of whale.

Humpback Whale calves to come.....

Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga - Tail Slapping Humpback Whales

Whales are Scarce

Humpback Whales are large air breathing marine mammals.  You would have thought it relatively easy to locate such a leviathan, but this wasn’t the case.  The islands of Vava'u comprise some 50 islands – many uninhabited and covered in lush vegetation and coconut tree groves.  It was in the water surrounding these islands that we began our rather long search, with the score for the first day being whale 1 and photographers nil. 

LEFT:  A large Humpback Whale shows his tail less than 6 meters from the boat during a "heat run".  The whale was so close that I couldn't fit the whole tail in the frame (70 mm).

Finding the whales was to become our nemesis on this trip.  Although whale numbers in Vava’u have been steadily increasing each year, the time the whales arrive in Vava’u is slightly different each year; on most years the whales arrive in early July and by August the females have given birth and are suckling their calves in the sheltered water offered by the islands.  This year (2010) the whales were late. 

We persisted, and spent many hours steaming around the islands, through straights and on a few days steamed 10 kilometres out to sea.  Our crew, apart from us, consisted of a Tongan skipper and a first mate – both of who scoured the horizon searching for the tell tail “blow” of a humpback whale.  The blow can be seen from many miles away and was used by early whaler’s to discover the location of the whale.  We had a slight advantage over the early whalers in that we had a small piece of technology called a hydrophone.  By lowering the hydrophone into the water and listening, the presence of a whale could be discovered.  Courting males often sing and make chomping noises that provide telltale evidence that a whale is in the area.  Interestingly the songs are population specific and change over time with no individual song being identical.

Rough Sea Conditions – Trade Winds

I was very surprised that the sea conditions were not oily calm other than in the lee of islands.  The trade winds predominate at this time of year and a 10-15 knot wind is standard issue along with the 1-2 two meter ocean swell and short chop that such a defining wind produces.  On some days, it was too rough to venture too far to sea – not so much because of the conditions but more for the comfort of us and the use of our cameras.  Getting into the water is rather easy in a rough sea, however, maintaining  position in the water for steady filming and getting back on the boat can be problematic. 

Heat Run

Finally, after many hours searching we sight not one blow but several multiple blows. We speed to the location and discover eight fast travelling humpbacks aggressively twirling and rolling around a female.  The males aggressively push each other aside as they compete for the favour of the female whale; pectoral fins and tails are used to either hit the water or block an opposing whale.  One whale has blood streaming from his head, no doubt caused by the slicing effect of barnacles that attach to the head and nose of humpbacks.  The whales continue to interact as we navigate our boat alongside the withering mass of mammal flesh. Several times we are splashed by water as the activity increases in crescendo. One male raises himself above the water to bring his bulk down onto another male thereby allowing access to the female whilst another male raise his tail vertically and slices the water before striking its brethren.  Then, as quickly as it began the activity stops and the whales disperse.

Cetacean behaviour is not completely understood, and although aggressive runs between males and females have been termed heat runs, and the behaviour is related to courtship and mating, there is little evidence suggesting that estrous is actually being released by a female whale.  Watching such an event is very exciting and it’s at these times that you wish you were shooting video rather than stills.

Breaching

As if the heat run was not enough to please us, as we turned for home we saw several large splashes further out to sea; the whales were breaching and tail slapping.  The sea was choppy and as we navigated to the location of the splashes, blue water was rolling up over the windscreen as the boat climbed the crests of waves to fall quickly with a solid bone jarring thump to the bottom of a swell. I thanked myself that my gear was securely packed into a weatherproof pelican case lashed to the rear deck. 

Breaching, tail and pectoral slapping are thought to be communication behaviour in which one whale will indicate its position to others in the vicinity.  What is for sure, is that this behaviour is very impressive and even more impressive when you see a massive 20 ton whale leap from the water not 20 meters from the boat! 

LEFT: Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) half breaches beside the boat as we maintain a constant speed with the leviathan.  The power unleashed when a humpback whale tail slaps is amzing and can only be appreciated first hand.

Photographing breaching whales in rough seas, as anyone who has done this will attest, is not easy.  The process is to keep both eyes open and the camera viewfinder glued to your shooting eye.  Once you see a breach you must quickly realign your focal point and take a series of photographs; all to often you are too slow, but with patience and practice it’s possible to record the whale leaping from the water.

Underwater whale photographs to come...

Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga - Photographing Humpback Whales

I had joined with three other individuals to photograph humpback whales and calves in the waters around Vava'u in the northern section of the Kingdom of Tonga in the south Pacific.  Vava’u is 50 minutes flight time north of the capital iand s nothing to get excited about.  Like most Pacific Nations, Tonga has its problems ranging from social neglect and environmental degradation to poorly maintained infrastructure.  Unlike Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Tonga appears to havereplaced much of it’s subsistence-based culture with first world consumerism.

However, I wasn’t here to make pass judgement on social integration – I was here to observe and photograph Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) which pass through this region annually to breed, give birth and fatten their calves before the migration south to Antarctica.

Landing Difficulty - Go Arounds

I’ve flown in many types of small aircraft from military helicopters to small Cessna Caravans, Beavers and Twin Otters, but this aircraft was a new experience.  I was facing a long slender cigar shaped tube equipped with two turbo props.  The nose on this machine appeared to immeasurably long and for some reason didn't look at all graceful.

LEFT:  I wasn't too impressed with this flying machine, a Fairchild Metroliner 11 of mid 1970's vintage - It could have been renamed the "Vomit Comet" for its propensity to rock & roll in poor flying weather (24 mm lens).

Climbing into the tube was not easy, especially carrying photographic equipment.  As per usual, I was overloaded and the pilot in command was nice enough to say that if I can carry it I can load it!  I had to stoop and almost drag myself and gear to the allocated seat at the rear of the fuselage.  Sitting in the sheepskin covered passenger seat of this 19 seat aircraft reminded me of sitting in a 1970’s reclining chair; my back was at an almost 45 degree angle and my feet were pushed up against the rear of seat in front – thank goodness I am not overweight!  One camera bag was under my legs and the other was perched on my knees. 

Worse to Come….

Worse was to come!  40 minutes into the flight we encountered poor weather; the aircraft was buffeted upwards and downwards repeatedly like a roller coaster as it flew into air pockets of warm air being driven upwards by a freshening tropical storm.  This wasn’t the worse storm I had flown in; I still have“fond” memories of flying in the Solomon Islands during an electrical storm but, with every lurch my stomach (or should I say contents of) churned like milk in a milk processing plant.  Finally Vava’u came into view (I think it was Vava”u - all I could see was cloud).  The landing approach began – flaps 10, 20, 30, gear down, throttle steady.  Looking from my small porthole window I saw palm trees lurch into view, followed by the tell-tail Claxton of the ground proximity warning alarm.  The Pilot throttled up, landing gear was raised and flaps retracted – it was the first go around of the day!  This was to continue a further 4 times as the pilot unsuccessfully attempted to land in Vava’u in almost zero visibility.  We were advised that if conditions did not improvewe would need to return to the mainland.  No doubt this decision had something to do with “bingo fuel”, that vital volume of avgas that is required to allow a safe transit to an alternate air field.

LEFT:  French photographer Flore looks back toward the camera as we taxi for take off in the Metroliner (24 mm lens).

My problem was not that the pilot was incompetent, but that with every go around I was increasingly feeling more ill due to the zero visibility and continual buffeting.  I began to wonder if the nickname for this aircraft would soon be the “Vomit Comet”

Finally, on the sixth attempt the pilot saw a break in clouds, descended quickly to almost sea level and made an approach from the opposite end of the runway.  Coral reefs followed by a steep cliff and coconut palms sprang briefly into view as the aircraft powered in for a fast approach to the runway.  Touch down, unlike in an American football game, was uneventful and as we rolled and bumped along the tarmac, I noted the rescue tender, engine running and crew alert, standing by along the runway edge.

Day 1 – I had arrived....    More to follow on the whales soon.