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Monday, February 4, 2008

More Encounters with Humpback Whales In Hawaii

After we published Keoki's story about his encounter with a humpback whale mama and her baby in Hawaii, which had happened many years ago, we came across some more exciting humpback whale close encounters and incredible photos. Let's share with our blog visitors what we've found.

Evelyn from Homespun Honolulu blog chose the whale motif as her theme for her '6th Carnival of Aloha' of Hawaii Blogs. Please, drop by and pay these blogs of our Hawaii blog ohana (family) a visit. You will be amazed by the huge variety of Hawaii themes and stories blog owners talked about plus by the incredible humpback whale photo.

Prize winning Humpback Whale photo by Lori MazzucaWhen I saw that photo my immediate thought was "This should have won a prize by National Geographic!". Well, pursuing the links back Evelyn provided for her humpback whale photo, I just found out that this exciting and unusual photo was shot by Lori Mazzuca on Kauai and won first place 'Mammals - Professional, National Wildlife Awards' by Smithonian Institute! Truly, well deserved! Here is what Lori Mazzuca, the photographer, said about her prize winning photo:

"I was observing a strange interaction between a pair of bottlenose dolphins and a humpback whale, when it became apparent that the two species were collaborating in some way. The dolphin was lying on a humpback whale’s head while it was slowly swimming along. Looking through my camera lens the stunt appeared to be orchestrated by mutual “agreement.” The whale very slowly—and vertically—lifted the dolphin into the air. I expected the dolphin to wriggle atop the humpback’s head to get off, but it just laid still and arched, trying to stay on top of the whale’s snout. In this frame the dolphin was beginning its slippery return to the sea. Once back in the ocean, the dolphin swiftly swam away with the other dolphin, leaping joyfully as if they had just scored a coup!”

This is not all for today. Sometimes the stories we come across on the Internet on blogs and posts are so complex, it makes it hard to sift through to the 'real thing'. Here is one of the most exciting blog posts we ever read on Hawaii blogs. Bobbie from the RightBlue blog posted it. We are still delighted and thankful when she shared some time ago her Hawaii diving tips with our blog visitors. If you are a diver or just interested in the abundance of tropical fish living around the Hawaiian islands, Bobbie is the one who can tell you all about them in an educational and entertaining way. Plus you don't want to miss her ocean life photos! Here is a short excerpt from her recent blog story about her 'Tales of Whales' - close encounters with humpback whales:

"On the day of our first whale encounter, we had completed the deepest part of our dive at Snapper Point, and we were coming slowly up the slope, poking lazily along, looking for shells and little critters on the rocky bank. Just like always.

We were a few meters below the level of the plateau when a shadow passed over us. We both stopped and looked up at the same moment -- just in time to see a full-grown Humpback Whale do a jackknife dive from the surface and glide down toward us. We were stunned."
Keep reading
, it only gets better.

Let us hear what you think about the gentle giants of the ocean, the humpback whales. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

Hawaii Whale Stories

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