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Humpback Whales Underwater

194 images Created 13 Oct 2010

Underwater photographs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) taken in Tonga, Sri Lanka, French Polynesia. Includes singing whales, heat runs, mother and calf pairs.

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  • This is a female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) bringing her fluke down, creating a foot print or fluke print at the ocean surface, with streams of bubbles trailing from the leading points at the either tip of her fluke. This female was accompanied by a male. The two rested together, rubbing bellies at one point. The male also sang while with the female.
    humpback-whale-female-fluke-surface-...tif
  • This is a portion of defecation from a humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis). Defecation like this from calves contributes to the cycling of nutrients from nutrient-rich high latitudes to less nutrient-abundant lower latitudes. This calf’s mother fed primarily in and around Antarctica. She then provided milk to her calf in the relatively warm waters of Tonga, leading eventually to this defecation, thus transporting nutrients from the waters of Antartica to those of Tonga. The fibrous material protruding from the feces is probably baleen, ingested by the baby whale.
    humpback-whale-calf-defecation-tonga...tif
  • This is an adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) spyhopping at the ocean surface with her pectoral fin extended. This female was accompanied by an adult male, which fended off other males from time to time.
    humpback-whale-female-spyhop-extende...tif
  • This is a rear view of a male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) engaged in a dominance display by blowing a stream of air bubbles. Visible in the top left background is a female humpback whale. This female was associated with the male blowing bubbles. The pair were approached by several other males, which precipitated the bubble blowing seen here. A portion of one of the other whales is visible in the bottom right corner. Displays like this are a common behavior among male humpback whales accompanying females during the breeding season.
    humpback-whale-male-bubbles-dominanc...tif
  • This is a pair of southern hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The individual above is the female. The male below is blowing a trail of bubbles, a gesture of dominance toward other males that were in the area showing interest in the female.
    humpback-whale-courtship-201808-3541.tif
  • This is a female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) swimming together with her mother at depth, ventral surfaces of both whales clearly visible. The proximity of the calf to mother and similarity of body language underscores the bond between the two. This mother and calf were accompanied by at least three escort whales in a dynamic situation.
    humpback-whale-mother-calf-tonga-201...tif
  • This is a female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) playing at the ocean surface, her mother visible in the background. The calf has just used her powerful fluke to spin herself in a circular motion, pivoting around her center of mass. The calf's mammary slits are visible. Exuberant activity like this is vital to the calf's physical development in preparation for the long journey to the feeding grounds. Photographed in the Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-female-calf-playing-2...tif
  • This is the view from beneath a male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) playing at the ocean surface. The calf had just lifted its caudal region out of the water, then flipped over so that his belly was facing upward while he spun his body around. This had the effect of whipping his fluke in a circle, leaving a wake of bubbles, froth and whitewater as seen here. This type of play behavior is typical among healthy humpback whale calves.
    humpback-whale-calf-male-playing-ton...tif
  • This is a male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) poking his head out of the water, a behavior that is often referred to as spyhopping. The calf’s mother is in the background.
    humpback-whale-calf-male-spyhopping-...tif
  • This is a female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) nursing. To ask for milk, the calf presses her rostrum and tongue against her mother’s mammary slits, as pictured here. Extended periods of nursing are often followed by bouts of play, after a calf has in effect been re-fueled.
    humpback-whale-calf-nursing-201808-3...tif
  • This is a female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) nudging her mother’s mammary gland area to ask for milk. When this image is viewed at 100% magnification, the tongue of the calf can be seen. Just visible in the lower right corner is part of a resting escort whale in the background.
    humpback-whale-calf-nursing-tonga-20...tif
  • This is a male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) playing at the ocean surface, using his pectoral fin to sweep through the water, leaving turbulence and bubbles in its wake. The calf’s mother was resting below.
    humpback-whale-calf-playing-megapter...tif
  • This is a male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) peeking out from underneath his pectoral fin as he swims upside-down beneath the ocean surface. His mother was resting about 20 meters below.
    humpback-whale-calf-playing-peekaboo...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) swimming just under the ocean surface, partially backlit by dramatic rays of sunlight
    humpback-whale-calf-male-tonga-20180...tif
  • Male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) calf playing at the ocean surface after coming up to breathe. His mother was resting below at a depth of around 20 meters.
    humpback-whale-calf-male-201808-2253.tif
  • This is a view from underwater of an adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) executing a reverse tail slap or penduncle slap. The whale has just slapped the surface of the ocean with the dorsal side of her penduncle and fluke, resulting in the copious whitewater and froth visible in this image. This whale did this repeatedly as part of extended play with her female calf, which was executing tail slaps and breaching.
    humpback-whale-reverse-tail-slap-und...tif
  • This is a female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) playing at the ocean surface. Here she is swooshing her fluke in a circular motion, creating a momentary vortex that illustrates the power she possesses despite being only a few months old.
    humpback-whale-calf-vortex-fluke-201...tif
  • This is a view from underwater of an adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) executing a reverse tail slap or penduncle slap. Pictured here, the whale has just slapped the surface of the ocean with the dorsal side of her penduncle and fluke, resulting in the copious whitewater and froth visible in this image. This whale did this repeatedly as part of extended play with her female calf, which was executing tail slaps and breaching.
    humpback-whale-reverse-tail-slap-und...tif
  • This is a male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) with his mother. The calf had just finished nursing and was making its way to the surface to breathe. While still at depth, the calf opened and closed its mouth several times. This behavior often happens during or after nursing.
    humpback-whale-calf-male-open-mouth-...tif
  • This is a male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) engaged in play while his mother rests at the ocean surface. Young calves often rub against and roll on top of their mothers’ rostrum when the females and calves are at the surface.
    humpback-whale-calf-playing-mothers-...tif
  • Female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with her male calf
    humpback-whale-female-calf-201808-04...tif
  • Lone juvenile male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) engaged in a spyhop at the ocean surface.
    humpback-whale-juvenile-male-spyhop-...tif
  • A male and female humpback whale pair, with the female above showing her abdomen and the male below.
    humpback-whale-male-female-courtship...tif
  • Female humpback whale calf playing at the ocean surface while her mother rests below. On this day, the adult always maintained this vertical position while resting. When I came across this same mother and calf pair eleven days later, the adult no longer seemed to prefer this upright pose, but instead rested in the more common horizontal position.
    humpback-whale-female-with-calf-2017...tif
  • This is a playful male humpback whale calf, with this mother visible in the background. There was also an escort whale accompanying this mother and calf. The escort, not visible in this image, was singing.
    humpback-whale-male-calf-playing-ton...tif
  • This is a male humpback whale that was the primary escort in a small competitive group heat run of four whales. The male is blowing bubbles, likely intended to be a display of aggression and dominance. The dark female dark is just visible at the bottom of the frame. The male had a small portion of his penis protruding.
    humpback-whale-male-bubbles-201708-0...tif
  • Adult female humpback whale in the foreground, with escort and her male calf behind her. The calf’s mouth is open. This behavior can happen at any time, but often is associated with play after nursing has taken place. In this case, the calf had just finished nursing.
    humpback-whale-mother-calf-escort-ca...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf nursing
    humpback-whale-calf-nursing-tonga-20...tif
  • Head-on view of an adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) at rest, with her male calf visible in the background and slightly deeper than she is.
    humpback-whale-female-with-calf-2016...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf relaxing with his mother and an escort whale in the background.
    humpback-whale-calf-with-mother-and-...tif
  • Male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) playing just below the ocean surface
    humpback-whale-calf-male-playing-ton...tif
  • This is a male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) resting beneath his mother, with the male escort visible in the background.
    humpack-whale-calf-with-mother-and-e...tif
  • Rear view of a humpback whale escort, with the adult female and male calf in the background. This particular trio were calm and settled, staying in one general area for at least two days. Notice the escort whale’s curved spine.
    humpback-whale-escort-with-mother-ca...tif
  • This is part of competitive heat run with at least 14 humpback whales, far, far out in the open ocean. The seas were rough, and whales spread out over a large area. Pictured here is one whale down deep in the process of inflating his throat. This is often a precursor to blowing a stream of bubbles as a dominance display. In this instance, however, this whale was not the primary escort, and it eventually deflated its throat instead of blowing bubbles. Why it inflated and then deflated is not clear.
    humpback-whale-throat-inflated-durin...tif
  • Pictured here are 13 whales that were in a 14-whale competitive group heat run. The whales were spread out over a large area, moving constantly, not really engaging in much interesting behavior beyond general jockeying for position.
    humpack-whale-competitive-group-heat...tif
  • Adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) at rest while her calf was playing at the ocean surface. Note the small stream of bubbles coming from her blowholes. From this angle, the pattern and array of tubercles on the whale’s head is clearly visible, as are the barnacles (Coronula diadema), whale lice (Cyamus boopis), and hairs on the whale’s jaw.
    humpback-whale-adult-female-resting-...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) hanging out under his resting mother. From this angle, the acorn barnacles (Coronula diadema) attached to the adult humpback whale are clearly visible, as are the marks left from where barnacles have fallen off.
    humpback-whale-calf-resting-under-mo...tif
  • This is the primary or dominant escort in a humpback whale competitive group, also known as a heat run. Male whales are competing for the female whale, which is the one with a long white slash mark on her torso, and a smaller one closer to her face. This behavior of blowing a massive trail of bubbles requires a substantial supply of air. The respiratory and digestive tracts of most animals, including humpback whales, are not connected. It is therefore not clear how humpback whales execute this behavior. After observing this heat run for an extended period of time, I was able to watch the entire sequence from beginning to end three times, and thus to confirm that the dominant whale did not gulp air at the surface. It inflated its throat pouch with air when it was submerged. This suggests that there is a mechanism by which a humpback whale can temporarily connect its respiratory tract to its digestive tract, thus shunting air from its lungs to its throat. This sequence thus provides photographic support for just such an anatomical link, as first proposed in a 2007 paper in The Anatomical Record by Reidenberg and Laitman.
    humpback-whale-bubble-blowing-sequen...tif
  • This is the primary or dominant escort in a humpback whale competitive group, also known as a heat run. Male whales are competing for the female whale, which is the one with a long white slash mark on her torso, and a smaller one closer to her face. This behavior of blowing a massive trail of bubbles requires a substantial supply of air. The respiratory and digestive tracts of most animals, including humpback whales, are not connected. It is therefore not clear how humpback whales execute this behavior. After observing this heat run for an extended period of time, I was able to watch the entire sequence from beginning to end three times, and thus to confirm that the dominant whale did not gulp air at the surface. It inflated its throat pouch with air when it was submerged. This suggests that there is a mechanism by which a humpback whale can temporarily connect its respiratory tract to its digestive tract, thus shunting air from its lungs to its throat. This sequence thus provides photographic support for just such an anatomical link, as first proposed in a 2007 paper in The Anatomical Record by Reidenberg and Laitman.
    humpback-whale-bubble-blowing-sequen...tif
  • This is a north Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae novaeangliae) pursuing a large school of herring in the cold, dark water of Arctic winter. The humpback whale swallowed several mouthfuls of fish during this foraging period.
    humpback-whale-pursuing-herring-norw...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) playing while traveling with his mother.
    humpback-whale-female-and-male-calf-...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) emerging from beneath the protective cover of his mother’s pectoral fin, just before surfacing to breathe.
    humpback-whale-calf-emerging-from-be...tif
  • Friendly female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) that was with her mother and an escort.
    humpback-whale-calf-female-tonga-201...tif
  • Female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) playing at the ocean surface. The young whale’s developing mammary slits are clearly visible.
    female-humpback-whale-calf-playing-t...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) female with her male calf, swimming over a shallow coral reef outside Hunga island in Vava’u, Tonga.
    humpback-whale-female-with-calf-shal...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) male calf breaching in choppy seas and overcast conditions. Photographed in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-breaching-stormy...tif
  • A pair of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) males cruising over a shallow coral reef on a sunny day.
    humpback-whale-pair-shallow-coral-re...tif
  • Male humpback whale that was accompanying a female with calf. This whale seemed to be singing, but upon comparison of recordings of the sounds this whale was making with recordings of the seasonal song sung by other whales in the same area, it became clear that this whale was not singing the song. It is not clear what the purpose of the sounds made by this whale was. The whale vocalized for at least 40 minutes. When the female and calf commenced playing, this whale stopped vocalizing.
    humpback-whale-singer-shallow-water-...tif
  • A playful male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) with his mouth open and a stream of bubbles coming out of his blowholes. This calf was highly interactive and inquisitive. I nicknamed him Rambo.
    humpback-whale-calf-mouth-open-bubbl...tif
  • Female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) nursing from her mother, with escort partially visible in the background. The calf, her mother, and the escort were all quite white. I nicknamed the calf Snow White.
    humpback-whale-female-calf-nursing-t...tif
  • This is milk that escaped from the mouth of a female humpback whale calf (a very white one that I nicknamed Snow White) after nursing from her mother. Calves often open their mouths and appear to gulp water after they nurse, possibly to flush excess milk. Note that the milk was thick and coagulated in the seawater. This makes sense, as the milk has a high fat content in order to support the high caloric demand of a growing calf.
    humpback-whale-milk-from-calf-201509...tif
  • Inquisitive humpback whale male calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) with his resting mother
    humpback-whale-calf-male-with-mother...tif
  • Male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) spyhopping and twirling around with his pectoral fin.
    humpback-whale-spyhop-pectoral-fin-t...tif
  • A relaxed humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) escort pirouetting, with female and calf visible in the background.
    humpback-whale-escort-and-female-wit...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) courtship pair, female twirling in the foreground, male in the background.
    humpback-whale-male-and-female-court...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliea) singer in clear and relatively shallow water in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-singer-shallow-water-...tif
  • Female humpback whale calf (201405) playing in front of her mother, with fluke of an accompanying escort whale visible at the lower right. The adult female is also the mother of Tahafa, an injured male calf (201411) I documented during the 2011 calving season in Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-female-playing-t...tif
  • A very skinny male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) that had a tendency to roam far away from his mother. This habit may help explain the multiple scars covering his body, including what appeared to be the remnants of a large bite on the left side of his penduncle, just above the fluke, as well as the plethora of additional scratches and scars on his torso. Despite being undersized and covered with injuries, this calf was healthy and energetic. He swam a lot and played often with his mother, including tail slapping and breaching.
    humpback-whale-calf-male-skinny-with...tif
  • A lone humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) hanging out at about 15m depth in the water. Photographed in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga
    humpback-whale-megaptera-novaeanglia...tif
  • Male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with white pectoral fins blowing a dramatic trail of bubbles during a frenetic competitive group heat run. This male was one of the two lead escorts in pursuit of the female that was the center of attention of this heat run. The abundance of scratches and scars on this male’s body bears testimony to his vigor and aggression.
    humpback-whale-white-pectoral-fins-b...tif
  • This is the female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that was the center of an extended, energetic competitive group heat run. There were two large males that were the main contenders, including one particularly aggressive male that had white pectoral fins, and a number of other males that cycled in and out of the intense activity. The barnacles on the female humpback’s pectoral fin are clearly visible.
    humpback-whale-female-pectoral-fin-b...tif
  • Part of an energetic competitive group heat run of humpback whales, with one pictured here blowing a trail of bubbles. Photographed in Vava’u, Tonga.
    humpback-whale-competitive-group-hea...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) male calf asleep on top of his resting mother’s head
    humpback-whale-mother-and-calf-tonga...tif
  • This photograph is from my fourth encounter with humpback whale calf 201404 (female), nicknamed the Bible by the whale watch boat captains. This playful calf is mimicking her mother, visible in the background. The adult female had the habit of resting with her fluke at the surface, as pictured here, for extended periods of time while her calf played.
    humpback-whale-calf-mimicking-her-mo...tif
  • Friendy female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) posing with her pectoral fins held together, with her mother resting in the background.
    friendly-female-humpback-whale-calf-...tif
  • Humpback whale female at rest with male calf (Megaptera novaeangliae)
    humpback-whale-female-with-calf-tong...tif
  • Humpback whale female (Megaptera novaeangliae) relaxing with her male calf. The adult has a split dorsal fin. Photographed in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-female-calf-tonga-201...tif
  • Close-up view of an adult female humpback whale’s fluke at the ocean surface, with acorn barnacles (Coronula diadema) and whale lice (Cyamis boopis) visible.
    humpback-whale-fluke-surface-close-u...tif
  • Friendly female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) 201404, whose mother had the habit of resting upside-down with her fluke at the ocean surface.
    friendly-humpback-whale-calf-female-...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) female that had the habit of resting in this upside-down position with her fluke at the surface. This adult female was the mother of energetic female calf 201404.
    humpback-whale-female-resting-fluke-...tif
  • Nine humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of ten that were engaged in a competitive group heat run centered around the dark female in the foreground of this photograph.
    nine-humpback-whales-competitive-gro...tif
  • This is the first verified record of a living humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the waters of Sri Lanka. This juvenile male was eight to nine meters in length and alone, sighted south of Mirissa. The whale traveled past Dondra Head and headed east along the coast. A comparison of the fluke with records the non-migratory humpback population in Oman did not result in a match. There is no obvious place where this humpback whale could have come from or have been going to.
    first-record-humpback-whale-sri-lank...tif
  • This is the first verified sighting of a living humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Sri Lanka. This 8-9m juvenile male was alone, swimming from west to east just south of Mirissa. It was inquisitive and interactive, approaching the boat and taking time to play before heading past Dondra Head, then eastward along the coast. A comparison of this whale’s fluke with those of the resident population of humpbacks around Oman did not result in a match. Where this humpback came from and where it was going are a mystery.
    first-verified-humpback-whale-sighti...tif
  • Rear view of an adult female humpback whale with her calf swimming above her head. This female and calf were the center of attention during a competitive group heat run that took place during a torrential downpour. There were at least three adult males accompanying this female and calf. The primary escort, partially visible in the lower left corner, had white pectoral fins, as did the calf. Note the rake marks along the trailing edge of the female’s fluke, scars left by predators such as orcas or false killer whales.
    humpback-whale-female-calf-rear-view...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) playing at the ocean surface. This calf and his mother were the stars of the 2013 season in Vava'u, Tonga. They were friendly and interacted with people in the water.
    humpback-whale-calf-playing-at-ocean...tif
  • Second repeat encounter with male calf 201309 with mom. They put on quite a surface show as well. Started in Mounu channel with Beluga Divers, then Allan, who passed to us at Luamoko. We left them in the area bounded by Swallows and the main channels
    humpback-whale-calf-reentering-water...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) resting under the chin of its mother. This female and her calf were inquisitive, friendly and relaxed. Note the white stripe pattern on the adult female's flank, which makes her easy to identify.
    female-humpback-whale-with-calf-vava...tif
  • Feces from retrieved from a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) female and calf pair. Unsure whether this came from the adult or juvenile whale.
    humpback-whale-feces-defecation-tong...tif
  • Friendly male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) with his mother. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-mother-and-calf-tonga...tif
  • Large male escort humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) accompanying an adult female with a female calf, all three passing over a shallow reef outside the Blue Lagoon area in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga. Female calf 201314, mom, escort
    humpback-whale-escort-fluke-with-mot...tif
  • Healthy male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) playing, skimming the ocean surface with the tips of his pectoral fins. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-playing-vavau-to...tif
  • Playful male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) splashing around with its fluke at the ocean surface. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-splashing-with-f...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) splashing around with its fluke at the ocean surface. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-splashing-with-f...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) playing at the ocean surface in front of his mother. Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-playing-with-mot...tif
  • Energetic young male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) playing at the surface with his mother resting below
    energetic-humpback-whale-calf-with-m...tif
  • Female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) resting in shallow water while her playful male calf keeps himself occupied. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-mother-and-calf-shall...tif
  • Adult female humpback whale with calf. This mother and calf pair were surrounded and being pursued by at least four escort whales. The frenzy of males associated with this female and calf was reminiscent of a similar situation I encountered with the mother of the injured calf Tahafa (201114) in 2011. There was a long-term association between that that female/ calf and an escort. At one point, many males converged upon and assailed the escort, engaging in heavy physical contact. The next day, all the males, including the long-term escort, disappeared. Having seen this pattern of behavior a few times, I believe this may indicate estrus or similar state of reproductive receptivity by the adult female.
    humpback-whale-female-and-calf-tonga...tif
  • Female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) and its mother with multiple escort male humpbacks. There was a frenzy of males around this mother and calf pair. I have seen this type of behavior on multiple occasions. I believe it may have something to do with the adult female being in estrus, receptive to potential mating opportunities for a limited duration.
    humpback-whale-female-with-calf-mult...tif
  • Inquisitive male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) with its mother waiting below, photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-with-mother-wait...tif
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) surfacing to breathe, with its mother waiting below. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    male-humpback-whale-calf-surfacing-t...tif
  • A heat run of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) comprising five adult whales, four males and a female. The males are in competition for the attention of the female, which is the whale with lots of white on her body, on the right side of the photo. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    five-humpback-whales-heat-run-tonga-...tif
  • This adult humpback whale female was in deep, dark water with horrible visibility on an overcast day. She would have been nearly impossible to locate, had it not been for the steady stream of air bubbles she emitted from her blowholes, almost as if she were leaking air. This female was accompanied by calf 201238 (male), which was quite shy and stayed close to his mother. The stream of bubbles allowed me to keep track of her for an extended period, but for some reason, the trail of bubbles stopped at one point, begging the question of whether there was an actual leak, or whether she was consciously emitting the stream of bubbles.
    humpback-whale-leaking-air-from-blow...tif
  • This small but steady stream of bubbles made it possible to locate calf 201238 (male) and his mother, even in atrociously poor visibility like this, with the whales located in deep, dark water. In this photo, the calf is starting to rise to the surface, the faint silhouette of his mother just barely visible. The adult female seemed to leak a steady stream of air from her blowholes, almost as if she had a leak. This was true over repetitive encounters (see separate close-up photo of the female’s blowholes leaking air). More puzzling, however, was the fact that the adult stopped streaming bubbles just before our final encounter with her and the calf. Did the mother have a blowhole leak? Or was she knowingly letting air escape? The calf was a shy boy, always sticking close to his mother. The pair put on a great tail-slapping and breaching display for us.
    humpback-whale-leaking-air-from-blow...tif
  • Three humpback whale males engaged in social behavior, much of which appeared quite intimate. The whale pictured here nuzzling the ventral area of another whale exhibited this behavior for an extended period, including stroking of the second whale’s urogenital area. The whale being nuzzled emitted a dark fluid at one point. It was unclear what that emission comprised.
    intimate-social-behavior-among-humpb...tif
  • Three humpback whale males engaged in social behavior, much of which appeared quite intimate. In this image, one whale is nuzzling the ventral area of another whale. This took place for an extended time, and the nuzzling included the urogenital area. The whale being nuzzled emitted a dark fluid. It was unclear what that emission comprised.
    intimate-social-behavior-male-humpba...tif
  • Three socialising male humpback whales. During extended social interaction, one of the males nuzzled the ventral area of another whale several times, including nuzzling of the urogenital area. The first time I saw this, the whale being nuzzled emitted some sort of dark fluid. I think it was feces, but there was only a little, and the whales were relatively far, so I am uncertain what it was.
    three-socializing-humpback-whale-mal...tif
  • This is a female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) accompanied closely by her male calf. Underneath her are two escort whales, both males competing for her attention. Note the exhalation of a cloud of bubbles by one of the escort whales. In this context, such a display is most likely intended as a display of dominance.
    humpback-whale-female-calf-escorts-m...tif
  • One of six male humpback whales in a heat run centered upon a female humpback with a calf. This male is diving down to join the other whales. Photographed in Tonga.
    male-humpback-whale-diving-heat-run-...tif
  • Male humpback whale swishing his fluke at the ocean surface during an action-packed heat run involving six adult male humpback whales, a female humpback and her calf. Note the turbulence and cavitation created by the tremendous power of the whale's fluke. Photographed in Tonga.
    humpback-whale-heat-run-fluke-turbul...tif
  • This female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and her calf were the center of attention in the middle of a heat run involving six male humpback whales. The primary escort is visible in the background. The whales were traveling at high speed, diving down from time to time. The calf's inability to hold its breath as long as the adults meant that the whales surfaced relatively frequently.
    female-humpback-whale-with-calf-heat...tif
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Tony Wu Underwater Photography

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