Whales: An Unforgettable Journey Page #2

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We know next to nothing about what

the songs of Humpback Whales mean.

We do know

that only the males sing.

It seems to be done to attract females

and to challenge other males.

Everyone in this area

sings the same song

but it changes subtly over time.

Like human singers,

Humpbacks often employ rhymes

apparently to help them

remember complex songs.

Suspended head down

and motionless

they sometimes sing

for hours at a time.

The songs are shatteringly loud.

Biologist Debbie Glockner-Ferrari

has worked in Hawaii since 1975

studying humpback whales.

At age six, her daughter is

already an eager assistant.

I love working with whales,

especially mothers and calves

but they can be

difficult to study

because they're often pursued

by groups of aggressive males.

Though they may look

peaceful underwater

ten enormous whale Humpbacks

rushing by can pose a 400-ton threat

to any researcher who happens

to get in their path.

Physical contact with their mothers

is very important to the babies.

As an observer my own relationship

varies from whale to whale.

Their natures often seem as

diverse as human personalities.

Some barrel past

as if I'm not there.

Others will let me

approach freely.

This small calf we've named Echo.

Her mother's name is Misty.

Echo is always curious

about what's around her.

Young calves are often playful swimming

right up to get a closer look at me.

But their mothers

are always nearby.

Humpback mothers are

pregnant for about a year.

They give birth to a single calf

that weighs two to three tons.

While the baby is nursing

it's thought to gain

about a hundred pounds a day

in the first few weeks.

Like humans, whales

are air breathers.

When Echo was born her mother most

likely pushed her to the surface

for her first breath of air.

Often a male suitor will

accompany the mother and calf

and while the mothers and

escorts typically stay under

for about

a quarter of an hour

babies like Echo have to

come up for air every few minutes.

Humpbacks breed and give birth

here in Hawaii but they don't eat here.

To feed, they must undertake

an incredible journey

swimming more than 3,000 miles

to Alaskan waters.

During that long migration the calf will

rarely leave its mother's side.

A young whale would stand

very little chance

of surviving alone

in the open ocean.

When Misty and Echo leave for Alaska

I feel excited but worried for them.

Their trip across the ocean

and back is filled with hazards.

Some of the whales I've gotten

to know have never returned.

Ships plying modern sea lanes

cross migratory routes of whales.

Accidental encounters

are often fatal.

Through a gauntlet of dangers,

Misty and Echo will follow

ancient whale pathways

to Alaska.

Within the watery depths

are bones of their ancestors-

reminders of the days when whalers

waited along these migration routes

driving many species

to near extinction.

Though whaling is now much

reduced, it still continues

and some whalers kill

even endangered species.

How whales navigate the globe

is still a mystery to us.

They may be assisted

by the calls of distant whales

beacons to guide them

through the deep.

Though masters of navigation

there are some obstacles

they cannot avoid.

As whales approach the coast

some get caught

in fishermen's nets.

Even the strongest whale

struggling to free itself,

may drown.

But in faraway Newfoundland

a lucky few in this predicament

get to meet biologist Jon Lien

who has freed

more than a thousand whales.

In a hopeful change

of conscience

the human has turned

from hunter to helper.

One might expect

an entangled whale

dragging the boat of its

helpers, to be aggressive-

but Jon has never been hurt

while freeing them.

The whales seem to know

they're being helped

and accept it passively,

perhaps even gratefully.

After weeks at sea,

the Humpbacks approach Alaska.

Some may have lost nearly

a third of their weight since last eating.

No animal on Earth makes a greater

effort while going without food.

One of the gravest threats

faced by traveling whales

comes not from people,

but from their own kind.

Here, a skull of a Killer Whale

is a ghostly reminder

that they lurk

in the surrounding waters.

Armed with massive teeth,

they are to other whales

the most fearsome predator

in the sea.

Roaming in packs, Killer Whales

often prey on whale calves

and even attack adults.

In open water,

there's no place to hide.

Not all whales will reach

their destination.

A final piece of the whale story lies

in the icy waters of Alaska-

both feeding grounds and journey's end

for the migrating Humpbacks.

The Odyssey and its crew

have sailed here to wait for their arrival.

Around Odyssey, the season of plenty

has begun in the far North.

Though the Humpbacks

are headed here

for the swarms of krill

and tiny fish

the spring and summer months

in Alaska also provide a bounty

for year-round residents.

A wildlife spectacle around

them, but no whales in sight.

Days of looking turn to weeks.

As big as whales are,

they can be hard to find.

You can often hear them

before you see them.

The long and hazardous journey

is over.

The whales have made it back.

A big male comes to the boat

and rides the bow wave

something Payne has never seen

a Humpback whale do before.

As the day wears on,

more and more whales arrive

but to the crew's

disappointment

Misty and Echo

are not among them.

Finally, a procession of mothers

and calves begins to arrive.

Then, the moment

they had hoped for.

By sheer luck, they spot a calf

with familiar markings.

It's Echo...

...and Misty is with her.

They've made it unharmed.

The long months of fasting end

as the herd assembles to feast.

Dependent until now

on their mothers milk

the calves are about to get

their first taste of krill and fish.

Humpbacks have developed one of the

most unusual feeding strategies in the sea.

In a coordinated action,

they blow nets made of bubbles

to encircle

small schools of fish.

Then, while one submerged whale

screams to concentrate the prey

they all rocket upward

through the bubble net

to engulf the trapped fish

in their huge mouths.

It's a perfect strategy.

The fish won't cross

the barrier of bubbles.

Seldom seen by humans

it is one of nature's

most extraordinary sights.

When summer ends, the Humpbacks

turn southward again

continuing the ancient cycle

of their lives.

Most of their existence

remains shrouded in mystery

yet the more we learn, the more

we move to protect their world

so that far into the future

our children's children can still marvel

at the songs and secrets

of the mightiest creatures

the Earth has ever known.

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