[Tuesday, May 30th ~ 12pm Departure, M/V Sea Lion]
Scientists love to speculate as to why whales breach. Some say it's a social behavior, on par with an excited exclamation or a loud "hey!" When there's no other whales around, we like to mention that whales can generally hear about 10 miles away, so potentially they are still communicating with a distant associate. Some argue that breaching is a nice way to itch themselves, and they'll use that impact of the water to dislodge parasites and barnacles irritating their skin. Some say it's a warning call to other animals, like an impressive "stay away" or "hey watch out, I'm right here." But on a day like today, where the wind is blowing across the water and the swell from the distant ocean rocks our vessel, I can't help but think that behaviors like this are simply just a way for a whale to have fun.
In my time as a whale watch naturalist, I've only observed a humpback whale breach a handful of times. Postcards and youtube videos like to make you believe that it's a regular occurance in our lives, with whales breaching 10 feet from our boat on a daily basis, and every passenger just happens to have their cameras up and ready as if the behavior was predicted. This is so far from the case - just like your cat will never do that cute thing when you whip out the camera for a viral youtube video, a whale will never breach when you expect it, and especially not when you're ready, with your zoom lens pointed at the exact point of impact. Breaches are rare, and often come out of nowhere! Being above-the-water dwellers, we don't see the majority of a whale's life because it occurs underwater, meaning that many of their behaviors come across as mysterious and unpredictable.
Considering all of this, we were extraordinarily lucky today to witness the behaviors we did from a duo of humpback whales milling off of the northwest corner of San Juan Island. What started as a typical travel pattern, with a few surfacings followed by a longer, fluke-out dive, suddenly turned into a display of just how much fun a whale can have in choppy, rain-punctuated waters. We witnessed an incredible tail breach, characterized by the animal bringing it's entire tail stock out of the water in a cartwheel-esque motion, spinning on their nose underwater and launching half of their bodyweight through the air. This feat was marked by stunned faces and, of course, a huge splash! Our audience of thrilled, rain-gear-coated folks looked on in awe as these two humpbacks resumed their normal behavior, anxiously awaiting another display. We were not disappointed! A few minutes later, one of these massive whales rolled over onto its side to bring its pectoral fin straight out of the water, waving it around in the air as if greeting us from afar. We got some amazing looks at this 15-foot-long flipper before it came crashing back down to the water with a large "slap!"
The boat rolled some more, whitecaps popping up on some of the higher waves surrounding us and these whales. The only sound was the quiet, idling humm of the motor and the rush of wind past our ears. We looked on as these two massive beasts revelled in these sea conditions, undoubtably having the time of their lives in the drizzling rain. As we like to say, whales don't mind getting wet! In fact, it seems that they prefer these rougher conditions for a little jaunt of playful shenanigans. We left the scene shortly after to take cover in some calmer waters, observing other wildlife as we zig-zagged through small island passageways on our way home, waving goodbye to these playful giants along the way.