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

Wombats, Kangaroos & Young - Tasmania

The last few weeks have brought exceptionally severe weather to the state. High winds, rain and occasional snow have fallen as embedded lows within several; frontal systems cross Tasmania.

The last few days has a seen a break in the weather and I decided to head 4 hours north to spend two days at a favourite location to photograph wombats and kangaroos. At this time of year the young are still in the pouch and my aim was to attempt to secure images of young wombats and Eastern Grey Kangaroos. Of course pre-visualizing what you want in a photograph and actually achieving that are two different animals.

The weather didn’t hold off as anticipated and rain showers crossed frequently during the two days interspersed with periods of sunshine and cloud cover. Personally I enjoy the rain and have never minded being out in the weather photographing wildlife, however, care must be taken with equipment - Canon claims their 1D series cameras and L series lens are waterproof, but I always take precautions and use rain covers when possible. Further, when furry animals are wet they take on a distinctly different appearance to when they are dry and fluffy-like – this is a look I rather like and find endearing.

The area I was located is quite extensive and wildlife can be observed anywhere along a 7 mile stretch of land, which due to the recent torrential rain was totally water-logged almost resembled an inland sea. Once one site, the first task is to actually discover where the animals are and then “hang about” observing them so they become used to your presence. Only then can you approach close enough to capture images. I’m always careful never to approach too close – no photograph is worth disturbing an animal.

Wildlife Prolific

On this short trip, the wildlife was quite prolific. Black Cockatoos flew overhead making their raucous calls and several wombats grazed along the grassy verge. Two mobs of Eastern Grey Kangaroos were easily spotted and within the group there were several females with young. A number of bird species were seen including the large Mountain Duck and the Red-beaked Black Swan. Located in the bracken fern were two species of wallaby – the Tasmanian Paddymellon and the Bennett’s Wallaby. Both animals are very attractive marsupials with distinct facial markings. They inhabit the bracken fern as the new fern growth is one of their favourite food supplies.

My aim, however, was young animals in the pouch, but during the morning I saw very few with young, and of those I did, the young were safely tucked away from harms way in the rearward opening pouch of the mother. Instead, I was content to spend my hours with a mob of Eastern Greys.

 During the hours I spent amougst the "mob" I observed several aspects of behaviour including: grazing, resting, maternal affection, male aggression, sexual excitement, cough rumination and scratching.

At one stage the rain was so heavy, that I stopped photographing and we both looked at each other wondering why we were standing out here in the weather!

I’m always amazed at the speed and agility of kangaroos when they put “their pads to the floor”.  Hopping is a very cost effective method of travel and “roos” can travel vast distances in a relatively short period of time. The photograph lower down was taken when part of the mob decided to move on. The lead kangaroo makes the first move, and the remainder follow. The height these animals were hopping was well in excess of 2.5 meters (10 feet) and the speed was impressive – especially when you take into account they were hopping through and over water roughly 1 foot deep!

Mother Wombat & Following Baby

Earlier, I had observed a female wombat and baby and knew there were “holing” up within a burrow in the general location. All one could do was play the waiting game in the rain! My patience was rewarded, albeit briefly when the mother wombat and baby made an all too brief visit from their burrow to graze on the succulent grass. I knew I would have to be fast if I wanted an image; it was obvious this mother was not taking any chances with her young infant. She was cautious and vigilant and once she saw me began making an immediate bee-line to one of her burrows.

As I had pre-visualized the image I wanted, and knew the location of the main burrow, it was a relatively easy deduction to assume the wombat and baby would bee-line along the top of the mound to reach the entrance to the burrow. I was right! For a brief 10 seconds the wombat was silhouetted on top of the mound with baby in tow.