Humpback Whales Play With Divers in Tonga; Attempt Contact

[paulmila]

You can do this through the NAI'A organization.

I tried giving you the website but this damn service blocks it. Go to naia without apostrophy, add the .com and then .fj

Best time is end of July, all of August and early September. I did it in August.

[deeph20inlv]

Looking to do this trip can you give me details on who to book with and time of year.

Fantasic vid. deeph20inlv got a few of my own on yotube

[paulmila]

The opening sequence is a mother & calf and an escort. Probably not the whales' father but a male hoping to get lucky.

The middle sequences with the diver are encounters with "teenage" whales called "dancers" because they like to engage humans and have some fun. They were mid-size, about 30 to 35 feet

The last sequence starting from the diver photographing a whale's white belly, was of two very large, 40 to 50 ft. mature adults who seemed to be starting to engage in pre-mating behavior.

[hmj211]

Was that a mother and calf? A pregnant whale and escort?

[BLACKOUT17923]

i thought they'de be bigger david attembourgh was going on about ''oh there the bigest species on earth even posibly bigger than the biggest dinosaur...''......dudes its small

[paulmila]

Hi Blackout,

Well, adult humpbacks, like the ones in the video, range from 40 to 55 feet, pretty big in my book.

Fin whales go over 60 feet and Blue whales go 80 to 100 feet. Blue whales are larger than the biggest dinosaurs.

In person they are pretty awesome up close.

Paul

[BLACKOUT17923]

well thanks for that in a bombshell haha :)

[paulmila]

Hi Derekoarmy,

Because sound underwater is so multidirectional, we never could determine if the sounds were coming from the whales we were looking at.

Regarding aggression, at the end of the video you see another whale in the background. Just before the "friendly" whale was "dancing" and extending its pec fin, the other whale had moved in front of the videographer and appeared to try and whack him with its fluke. The two whales had very different personalities.

Paul

[Derekoarmy]

Had four swim past last year while freedivnig in Western Australia. They never made a peep which was just as well. I wondered if they ever showed aggression. Doesn't appear to be any on the video. Thanks for posting the footage.

[rdljdjd]

Thank you for the great video!

[paulmila]

Hi Sandy,

As I said in my scuba buddy email to you, we couldn't always tell where the sound was coming from or which whale was making noise, but the deep tones went through your chest.

Being next to such huge, powerful creatures was very humbling.

Paul

[golfette44]

Hi Paul,

The sounds the whales were making is so loud on the video. Was it that loud underwater when you were filming? My pulse flutters watching the video, I can imagine it was incredible being there. :-)

[angeleasfeathers]

I am originally from NY also.

Sure be great to see more of your photos on Facebook and be able to share more of them right from Youtube !

When I went to stay at a rural village on stilts over the Indian Island on the Island of Seram , Indonesia we saw so many sea turtles it was amazing.

take care hope to see you there

Angela Cancilla Herschel

[angeleasfeathers]

I would have in a heartbeat and so would all of my animal trainer /biologist/zoologists crazy friends !

I am a volunteer also with rescue on the beaches of Malibu ...so this was music to listen to !

[paulmila]

Hi Angeleasfeathers,

Well, since you're on the west coast, Tonga is only a hop-skip&jump away (Cal to Fiji to Tonga). I'm an east coast guy, Long Island NY, so it was quite a journey. But well worth it. Hope I can do it again someday.

[Spiritedlulu]

Awesome!

[paulmila]

Hi, Spiritedlulu,

Yes, it truly was awesome to be in their presence, and have them choose to be with us. When I think about how these great whales are at the mercy of Japanese whalers when they leave Tonga and migrate to the Antarctic waters I really get angry.

[angeleasfeathers]

This was magic to watch and watch over and over again

[paulmila]

Glad you enjoyed it. As the saying goes, "you should have been there!"

Cheers!

Paul