Squeaks On The Ridge (Nov 19, 2015)
“Mich, we’ve got a whale!” This is my favourite wake-up call when at sea! I struggled to get dressed quickly in the wobbly conditions. It was still blowing 22-28 knots with 4-6 m swell running, so I try to get on deck with my camera as fast and safely, as possible. Remember, I was full scale asleep and am now full scale awake! Well trying to be. ‘Do up your trousers’, I mumble to myself, it would only get messy otherwise. I went out to the Albatross deck (at the aft of the bridge-deck), as I had heard Curt say that perhaps the whale was at our stern.
This Goes With That. Feresa attenuata looks like this and makes this sound!
A minute or two earlier, surfacing right near the bow, Curt had had a great view of a pygmy killer whale, complete with distinguishing rounded head and white chin and lips as it porpoised out of the water travelling from port to starboard. Unfortunately, this was to be the only view of this animal. But, with the towed array deployed, we were still collecting data. “Zips”, “burps”, “toots” and some “killer whale-like trills” boomed through the speakers in the wheelhouse in an intriguing mix of sounds and signals from more than one animal, several sounds heard at once. Earlier in the morning, Sam had found seven flying fish, of varying sizes on different decks – perhaps this whale was hunting some of these fish. In the rough weather we didn’t see this animal or other members of the pod, which could number 15-25 individuals, maybe they were spread out over a nautical mile or so, in the mountainous seas. Given the variety of calls, perhaps the whales were “hunting” (finding food), “socialising” (keeping in touch with the members of the pod) and even possibly “investigating”, checking out Whale Song. Certainly, as Whale Song slipped by slowly at 3.8 knots, this animal and others must have been quite close to the array given the quality and volume of the sounds recorded. ‘Well, that’s the first cetacean on the ridge – it’s all worth it!’, was the appraisal by Master Curt.
1400 nm From Land.
Two Barau’s Petrels toss and turn in the wind. They are headed where we have been. To more blue water!
Before 9am we had had a visual encounter and an acoustic encounter with a pygmy killer whale – that’s a great run on the board!
Tin Foil Sea. Photos and glare flatten the lively ocean. Its’ movement, keeps you on your toes.
Back in 1988 when Curt and I were working in Maui, we had a chance to observe a pod of 6 pygmy killer whales that were in the area for 6 weeks before they stranded on a remote beach one Saturday. Anyone who rescues cetaceans knows it is usually on the weekend that your services are required! With those animals, when had first encountered them, I had quietly slipped into the water with a Nikonos V for identification purposes. Their white lips surprised me but the sounds intrigued. I could hear them vocalising in the water. Just the same sounds we had heard this morning. Sound evokes memories – there I was back in the clear, Hawaiian water swimming beside half a dozen lithe, black bodies with splodgy, white marks on their chins and funny white pigmentation around their lips. The wheelhouse sounds transported me back 27 years.
Feresa
Pygmy killer whale
Feresa attenuata
The scientific name of that male
Lithe, dark body
This surfing whale
Chin and lips – oh so pale
With chirps and squeaks
And toots galore
Into the wheelhouse Feresa leaks
Deep-water dwellers
These are handsome
Gals and fellas
With their smudged white “lipstick”
And “milky” chins
Of only two species pick
Melon-headed also have white lips
But a tapered head they possess
And in low leaps their body flips
Pygmy killer whale
Not at all similar
To orca, or killer whale
With rounded head, white lips and chin
Less gregarious than other “blackfish”
They have a tall, slightly pointed falcate fin
Fantastic calls on the towed array
“Burps”, “toots”, “squeaks” and “zips”
An excellent find on the ridge – it’s A-ok!
(Written by Micheline Jenner)
What will we hear tonight? At midnight, I’ll be tuning in for the evening bulletin of the Deep Sea News. On the morrow, I shall provide a report on the stories.
Surf’s Up! Some 6, some 4 metre swells break at the crest beside Whale Song.
Take care.
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