Humpbacks

There's been an abundance of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding in the waters just off of Bamfield this year. We were very excited to spot a group as we were headed back to lab after finishing our fieldwork. Approaching cautiously and staying a safe distance away, we were able to observe them for quite a while (see here for whale-watching guidelines) and take some pictures with a good telephoto lens. We sometimes cynically call whales and other sea mammals "charismatic megafauna" because of the attention they get as compared to other organisms, but the truth is we get as excited to see them as anybody.

The whales were feeding by circling around their prey underwater while blowing small bubbles from their blowholes. The small bubbles make a "fence" that herds the fish inward and towards the surface. At the end, the whale swims up from below, opens wide, and gulps down some yummy fish. The two pictures above show a whale bursting out of the water after swimming up through its prey. You can see the water gushing out of the sides of the whale's mouth as it closes in the top photo. Cetacealab has a nice description of their feeding behavior.

We watched the whales for about half an hour, before heading back to lab for our own lunch. The whales were a nice reward for a cold, wet early morning in the field.