Brian Herbst had a banner Alaska vacation. He caught rockfish and halibut, saw moose and bears, stayed in a yurt — and in a moment of perfect timing, managed to snap a photo of a minke whale mid-breach, suspended above the waters of Kachemak Bay.
The snapshot shows the whale parallel above the water almost as if it’s competing in belly-flop contest, doing a midair plank or floating across the bay like a hovercraft.
"It’s not known why the whales breach, powering up out of the water and flying into the air, Webber said. It could be a way to signal to other whales by making a loud reentry into the water, or “some heightened state of excitement or demonstration of exuberance,” he said — but that’s just speculation."
There is a sport charter outfit out of, I think, Newport Beach, CA, which has a similar photo on it's website. That pic is a dolphin about 10' out of the water. It is spectacular.
Did you know that there's whole SPECIES of barnacles that live on just ONE species of whales? Yeah, they're nasty parasites and they presumably itch. They certainly pull the whales skin up into their shell to anchor on better, looks like a little flower of flesh once they're grown. I can't imagine that feels good.
So though they may claim "we don't know why they breach" I'm personally pretty sure that it's just like any other animal scratching. Just hard to find a good fence post in the middle of the ocean.
Flying wale. I saw a flying nun once.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing! Have already forwarded! Breathtaking!
ReplyDelete"It’s not known why the whales breach, powering up out of the water and flying into the air, Webber said. It could be a way to signal to other whales by making a loud reentry into the water, or “some heightened state of excitement or demonstration of exuberance,” he said — but that’s just speculation."
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just fun.
Wow, that's a shot in a million!
ReplyDeleteThis is from the house of DARPA. C'mon, man.
ReplyDeleteThere is a sport charter outfit out of, I think, Newport Beach, CA, which has a similar photo on it's website. That pic is a dolphin about 10' out of the water. It is spectacular.
Yeah well, this picture was submitted to me. The dolphin picture wasn't, so guess which one I posted?
DeleteDid you know that there's whole SPECIES of barnacles that live on just ONE species of whales? Yeah, they're nasty parasites and they presumably itch. They certainly pull the whales skin up into their shell to anchor on better, looks like a little flower of flesh once they're grown. I can't imagine that feels good.
ReplyDeleteSo though they may claim "we don't know why they breach" I'm personally pretty sure that it's just like any other animal scratching. Just hard to find a good fence post in the middle of the ocean.