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  • Vertebrae of exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) visible in the foreground, team of scientists, students and volunteers taking a break from the hard work in the backgound
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. Here, the vertebrae comprising the rear part of the whale are being cleaned.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. Vertebrae of the middle part of the whale are pictured here.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. The whale's vertebrae are visible here.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the long and heavy jaw bone of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Proper preparations for lifting the upper skull of the whale from the excavation put were required to ensure integrity of the skull structure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Proper preparations for lifting the upper skull of the whale from the excavation put were required to ensure integrity of the skull structure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Part of the vertebral structure of the exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Gloves and a knife used in the cleaning of the fin whale (Balaennoptera physalus) carcass. Cleaning and preparing a whale skeleton is difficult and smelly work.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Upper half of the skull of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Examining and cleaning the large vertebrae comprising the forward portion of the spinal column of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Examining and cleaning the large vertebrae comprising the central part of the spinal column of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Spinal disc and fragments from the exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). Part of the task was to re-assemble the fragement, much like working on a complex jigsaw puzzle.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Large vertebrae of the middle portion of the exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Upper half of the skull of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. The lower jaw bones are pictured here.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Piecing together fragments of the spinal discs of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is time-consuming and tedious, but there are rewarding moments when a match is found.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. Pictured here are the lower jaw bones.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. The lower jaw bones are pictured here, with the bulldozer in the background that was used to exhume the whale carcass.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Student engaged in laborious and smelly task of cleaning rib bones of an 18-meter female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found in Tokyo Bay in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Intricate pattern formed by the vertebrae comprising the neck area of the exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. Pictured here are the rear vertebrae.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. The whale's shoulder blades and some of its ribs are visible here.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Piecing together fragments of the spinal discs of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is time-consuming and tedious, requiring lots of concentration.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lifting the heavy skull of an exhumed fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) without damaging it is a delicate procedure.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. The lower jaw bones are pictured here.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • The bone structure comprising the pectoral fins of a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) reflect the animal's link to terrestrial mammals.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Lower jaw bones of an exhumed 18-meter long fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) carcass.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Scientists, students and volunteers engaged in cleaning the bones of an 18-meter long female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) that was found floating in Tokyo harbor in early 2012 and buried for about 16 months to facilitate decomposition. Even with the passage of so much time, there was still significant soft tissue and a power odor. Vertebrae of the middle part of the whale are pictured here.
    fin-whale-balaenoptera-physalus-japa...jpg
  • Four bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) swimming together. These individuals were part of a large social gathering of the endangered Sea of Okhotsk subpopulation. There is little known about this subpopulation, which was severely depleted by commercial whaling. Best estimates place the population size in the low hundreds.
    balaena-mysticetus-endangered-okhots...tif
  • Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) commencing a dive. Note the muscularity powering the whale’s fluke, and the visibility of the rib structure. Classification of Bryde’s whales is difficult and uncertain due to insufficient study and information.
    balaenoptera-edeni-brydes-whale-2013...tif
  • This is a young Eden’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) in the Gulf of Thailand side-lunging through a mass of fish, likely Sardinella sp., that this whale and its mother had aggregated by swimming in a large circle. This circle and side-lunge technique has become the dominant foraging technique since 2017, replacing the open-mouth trap feeding strategy that had been prevalent since the 1990s. I believe this reflects a change of target prey. The whales adapt their foraging strategies to target species.
    balaenoptera-edeni-side-lunge-feedin...tif
  • This North Pacific humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae kuzira) was part of a group of whales that engaged in cooperative bubble-net feeding for several days. One morning, this whale breached multiple times, prompting the other whales in the group to breach and pectoral slap for an extended period of time, as they ended their social foraging behavior and the whales went their separate ways.
    humpback-whale-breaching-alaska-2018...tif
  • This sequence of 17 images shows a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) executing a forward breach. As the whale emerges from the ocean, water streams off the animal’s body, as well as from the sides of the whale’s mouth. The whale exhales with great force as it surfaces, creating a cloud of water vapor, then inhales through open nostrils before plunging back into the water. The entire sequence spans just over one second of time. Image 17 of 17.
    humpback-whale-forward-breaching-seq...tif
  • This sequence of 17 images shows a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) executing a forward breach. As the whale emerges from the ocean, water streams off the animal’s body, as well as from the sides of the whale’s mouth. The whale exhales with great force as it surfaces, creating a cloud of water vapor, then inhales through open nostrils before plunging back into the water. The entire sequence spans just over one second of time. Image 16 of 17.
    humpback-whale-forward-breaching-seq...tif
  • This sequence of 17 images shows a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) executing a forward breach. As the whale emerges from the ocean, water streams off the animal’s body, as well as from the sides of the whale’s mouth. The whale exhales with great force as it surfaces, creating a cloud of water vapor, then inhales through open nostrils before plunging back into the water. The entire sequence spans just over one second of time. Image 3 of 17.
    humpback-whale-forward-breaching-seq...tif
  • A young southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) breaching. Note the development of the callosities. When the whale has matured and the callosities fully developed (complete with communities of commensal organisms), the pattern and layout of these callosities will facilitate photo identification. Photographed with the permission of the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa.
    young-southern-right-whale-breaching...tif
  • This is a male Eden’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) known as Mesa, demonstrating the Drawbridge technique for feeding on anchovies. The whale raises his head above water to approximately eye level, then drops his lower jaw rapidly as if lowering a drawbridge. He then maintains a stationary, mouth-open position for an extended period of time, sometimes up to 30 seconds, during which time anchovies jump into his mouth. When he collects sufficient fish, he closes his mouth and reenters the water. Mesa is part of an isolated population of Eden’s whales, which are a neritic member of the Bryde’s whale complex, that live in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Thailand. It is likely that there are 50 or less in the population. Photo 7 in sequence of 7 photos illustrating beginning of Drawbridge technique.
    eden-whale-male-mesa-drawbridge-feed...tif
  • This is a male Eden’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) known as Mesa, demonstrating the Drawbridge technique for feeding on anchovies. The whale raises his head above water to approximately eye level, then drops his lower jaw rapidly as if lowering a drawbridge. He then maintains a stationary, mouth-open position for an extended period of time, sometimes up to 30 seconds, during which time anchovies jump into his mouth. When he collects sufficient fish, he closes his mouth and reenters the water. Mesa is part of an isolated population of Eden’s whales, which are a neritic member of the Bryde’s whale complex, that live in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Thailand. It is likely that there are 50 or less in the population. Photo 2 in sequence of 7 photos illustrating beginning of Drawbridge technique.
    eden-whale-male-mesa-drawbridge-feed...tif
  • Playful gray whale calf (Eschrichtius robustus) interacting with tourist boat in Magdalena Bay, Baja, Mexico. The calf repeatedly opened its mouth while soliciting attention from boat passengers.
    gray-whale-calf-friendly-baja-mexico...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) courtship pair, female twirling in the foreground, male in the background.
    humpback-whale-male-and-female-court...tif
  • Bryde’s whale defecating (Balaenoptera edeni) after coming up from feeding
    brydes-whale-defecating-201502-2100.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
  • 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
  • Male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) that was with his mother and escort, opening his mouth while playing.
    humpback-whale-calf-mouth-open-tonga...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
  • Male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) spyhopping and twirling around with his pectoral fin.
    humpback-whale-spyhop-pectoral-fin-t...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) mother and calf accompanied by an escort with a white pectoral fin. Photographed in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-female-calf-escort-wh...tif
  • Intimate contact between two humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The whale with the white pectoral fin is the male, the female on top. Such physical contact characterized this extended encounter with these two whales. One or both of the whales also made low, gurgling sounds that came across as lovey-dovey sounds, for lack of a better term.
    intimate-contact-humpback-whales-cou...tif
  • Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni brydei) with multiple wounds from cookiecutter shark bites (Isistius brasiliensis). Photographed in the Ogasawara (Bonin Islands), Japan.
    brydes-whale-cookiecutter-shark-bite...tif
  • An adult humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) splashing lots of water with its fluke and posterior. Note the redness on the ventral area of the whale. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-splashing-water-tonga...tif
  • Part of the spinal column and vertebrae of a bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) on a rocky short along the Northwest Passage that passes above Somerset Island in Nunavut Province, Canada
    bowhead-whale-bones-balaena-mysticet...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with significant scarring on its dorsal surface. Note the fresh scar along the dorsal ridge near the right edge of the image. Like a prism, the whale's breath has split the sunlight into a rainbow.
    humpback-whale-dorsal-scarring-rainb...tif
  • Humpback whale calf (Megaptera noavaeangliae) nursing in dark water with low visibility. Humpback whale females with calves seem to have an affinity for resting in areas of low visibility around the islands of the Vava'u island group in the Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-nursing-tonga-me...tif
  • A large group of humpback whales breathing together in between periods of cooperative hunting with bubble nets to herd schools of fish together. The whales typically rest like this after each successful hunt.
    humpback-whales-breathing-resting-bu...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
  • This is a Bryde's whale that was feeding in the same area as a number of blue whales. The taxonomic status of Bryde's whales is complex. There are several genetically distinct species and/ or subspecies in the scientific literature, including Balaenoptera brydei, Balaenoptera edeni, and Balaenoptera omurai.
    brydes-whale-balaenoptera-edeni-sri-...tif
  • This is blue whale feces, discharged by a whale that had surfaced after feeding on krill in deep water in southern Sri Lanka. The neon red-orange color of the defecation is due to the whale's krill-based diet. The feces dissolve rapidly, as is apparent from the fizzing around the large clumps in this image. Photo taken under permit.
    blue-whale-feces-krill-Balaenoptera-...tif
  • This is a pair of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in courtship. The whale in the foreground is the female. The darker one below is the male. The whales in this encounter were inquisitive and proactively sought out attention.
    humpback-whale-courtship-megaptera-n...tif
  • Researchers measuring humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) that washed ashore on 3 January 2012 in Odawara, Japan. Measured 6.87 meters long and was male. Cause of death unknown. This humpback whale calf is the third smallest one recorded to date that has stranded or washed ashore in Japan. It is the third deceased calf to have been found in the 2011-2012 breeding and calving season. Members of the science community recording measurements for Japan's cetacean stranding database.
    dead-humpback-whale-calf-beached-in-...jpg
  • Humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) that washed ashore on 3 January 2012 in Odawara, Japan. Measured 6.87 meters long and was male. Cause of death unknown. This humpback whale calf is the third smallest one recorded to date that has stranded or washed ashore in Japan. It is the third deceased calf to have been found in the 2011-2012 breeding and calving season.
    dead-humpback-whale-calf-beached-in-...jpg
  • Researchers measuring humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) that washed ashore on 3 January 2012 in Odawara, Japan. Measured 6.87 meters long and was male. Cause of death unknown. This humpback whale calf is the third smallest one recorded to date that has stranded or washed ashore in Japan. It is the third deceased calf to have been found in the 2011-2012 breeding and calving season. Members of the science community recording measurements for Japan's cetacean stranding database.
    dead-humpback-whale-calf-beached-in-...jpg
  • Humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) that washed ashore on 3 January 2012 in Odawara, Japan. Measured 6.87 meters long and was male. Cause of death unknown. This humpback whale calf is the third smallest one recorded to date that has stranded or washed ashore in Japan. It is the third deceased calf to have been found in the 2011-2012 breeding and calving season.
    baleen-of-dead-humpback-whale-calf-b...jpg
  • Humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) that washed ashore on 3 January 2012 in Odawara, Japan. Measured 6.87 meters long and was male. Cause of death unknown. This humpback whale calf is the third smallest one recorded to date that has stranded or washed ashore in Japan. It is the third deceased calf to have been found in the 2011-2012 breeding and calving season.
    dead-humpback-whale-calf-beached-in-...jpg
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) executing a reverse tail slap, with dorsal surface hitting the surface of the ocean. This was an adult female with an accompanying calf. The mother and baby spent several hours playing together, slapping the ocean surface with their tails, breaching, and engaging in other activities. The calf was Orion, the 13th calf I counted during the 2007 season in Vava'u, Tonga.
    humpback-whale-reverse-tail-slap-meg...tif
  • Juvenile male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae), slapping the surface of the ocean with its fluke. The calf had an injury on its left abdominal area, which looked as if it may have been caused by a rope. The wound is just visible in this photograph. This is the 3rd calf I ID-ed in the 2011 season in Vava'u, Tonga.
    injured-humpback-whale-calf-playing-...tif
  • View of the back of a massive humpback whale (Megaptera novaengliae) coming for a breath of air. When viewed from this angle, the whale's blowholes resemble the shape of a person's nose.
    humpback-whale-dorsal-surface-with-n...tif
  • This is an adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) asleep at the ocean surface, with her calf in the background. Photographed in the Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-female-with-calf-2006...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
  • A group of four bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) engaged in social activity in very shallow water. These whales are part of the endangered Sea of Okhotsk subpopulation, which best estimates place in the low hundreds.
    balaena-mysticetus-endangered-okhots...tif
  • This is a male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) launching partially out of the water with his mouth open while playing together with his mother. The little whale’s baleen is clearly visible.
    humpback-whale-calf-mouth-open-20180...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 humpback whale was part of a bubble-net feeding group in Icy Strait, Alaska. This breach was one of a series of breaches and pectoral slaps that occurred in tandem with the end of social foraging, with the whales going separate ways.
    humpback-whale-breaching-alaska-2018...tif
  • A female humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) that was highly energetic and playful. Here she was slapping the ocean surface, learning how to generate power with the muscles in her peduncle and fluke. It takes practice to learn how to maintain the proper position at the surface to create the perfect splash and accompanying sound, a skill that is used by adult humpback whales to communicate with each other.
    humpback-whale-calf-peduncle-throw-t...tif
  • This is the pectoral fin of a 12.8m female Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni brydei) that appeared to have been brought into port on the bow of a ship. Though the cause of death was not entirely clear, the ship was known to have traveled for four to five days from China to Thailand. The whale could have died from impact, as suggested by the broken pectoral fin shown here. The whale was covered with bite marks from cookie cutter sharks, indicating that it was probably not one of the Gulf of Thailand’s resident Eden’s whales.
    broken-pectoral-fin-dead-brydes-whal...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
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching during a break from bubble net feeding. This whale was one of six that were engaged in social foraging.
    humpback-whale-breaching-alaska-2016...tif
  • Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) playing at the ocean surface in murky green water. Photographed with the permission of the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa.
    southern-right-whale-eubalaena-austr...tif
  • Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) male calf asleep on top of his resting mother’s head
    humpback-whale-mother-and-calf-tonga...tif
  • Pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) diving into the blue, with pelagic fish (likely yellowfin tuna or similar open ocean predatory species) visible in the background
    pygmy-blue-whale-balaenoptera-muscul...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
  • Female humpback whale calf (201404) spyhopping near her mother. The adult whale had the habit of resting with her fluke at the surface, as pictured here. Boat in the background.
    humpback-whale-calf-spyhop-next-to-m...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
  • Adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with a split dorsal. She was the mother of male calf 201411 in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    split-dorsal-fin-female-humpback-wha...tif
  • Humpback whale’s pectoral fin bathed in the warm glow of late afternoon sunlight
    humpback-whale-pectoral-fin-late-aft...tif
  • This is the distinctive fluke of the female humpback whale that was the mother of an injured male calf, which was the 14th calf I ID-ed in the 2011 season. This photo is from the 9th encounter with this female and calf. The calf's substantial injuries have healed well at the time this photo was taken. Here the adult female is resting, with the calf frolicking below her. Both the female and the calf will be easy to recognize in the future, the mother by her distintive fluke, and the male calf by his injuries. There was an escort associated with this pair for an extended period, with the escort accompanying these two whales from Vava'u to Toku Island. This photo is from Vava'u, after the female and calf returned to the area without the escort. The female was relaxed during this encounter, allowing the baby to play, breach, and interact with people in the water.
    distinctive-fluke-female-humpback-wh...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
  • Frontal view of an adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching. This female had a calf, and the pair both engaged in breaching for prolonged periods. Photographed in Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.
    breaching-female-humpback-whale-fron...tif
  • Humpback whale calf (Megaptera noavaeangliae) nursing in dark water with low visibility. Humpback whale females with calves seem to have an affinity for resting in areas of low visibility around the islands of the Vava'u island group in the Kingdom of Tonga.
    humpback-whale-calf-nursing-megapter...tif
  • Humpback whale calf (Megaptera noavaeangliae) nursing in dark water with low visibility. Humpback whale females with calves seem to have an affinity for resting in areas of low visibility around the islands of the Vava'u island group in the Kingdom of Tonga.
    nursing-humpback-whale-calf-megapter...tif
  • Large adult pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) diving into the blue, perhaps to forage for food. Photographed in Sri Lanka.
    pygmy-blue-whale-balaenoptera-muscul...tif
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Tony Wu Underwater Photography

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