Dominique Richardson

A Rough Weather Encounter

Submitted on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 3:02pm

 

Ma’alaea is known as one of the windiest boat harbors in the world and the past few days it’s been living up to its reputation. We’ve had winds of about 30 knots with gusts at higher speeds. But despite the weather, the whale watch trips have been very exciting (and I don’t just mean like riding a roller coaster). We’ve had breaching and pec-slapping and tail extensions and yesterday we even had one of the best whale watches of the season.

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
2 + 6 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

The Gray Humpback Whale

Submitted on Wed, 03/16/2011 - 12:23pm

 

Over the past week or so, we’ve been spotting a very unusual whale that the research department is affectionately calling “ ‘Ahinahina.” ‘Ahinahina means gray or silver (and is also the name of Hawaiian Silversword) and this whale definitely lives up to its name. ‘Ahinahina the whale is a very pale gray color instead of the dark gray to black of most humpback whales and looks particularly light when next to a whale with normal coloration.

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
16 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Tail Slapping

Submitted on Wed, 03/09/2011 - 2:00pm

 

The trade winds have been picking up and even though it’s windy, the sky is beautiful and clear.  In the past few days we’ve been seeing quite a bit of surface activity while out on the boats, particularly a lot of tail slapping. Cows and calves, single adults, adults in competition pods. It seems like everyone is doing it!

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 
Video: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
11 + 2 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Breaching Bonanza!

Submitted on Mon, 02/28/2011 - 5:49pm

 

The ultimate whale behavior that everyone wants to see on a whale watching trip is the breach, where a whale throws two-thirds to its entire body out of the water, landing with a massive splash. It’s very common for us to see these huge splashes out in the distance during our whale watches, but only the very lucky get to see it right next to the boat. Today we were very lucky.

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
3 + 5 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Another Fierce Competition

Submitted on Wed, 02/23/2011 - 1:14pm

 

This week we saw the most violent competition pod yet this season. There were only 6 humpbacks, but the action was intense. The males were swimming incredibly fast, at speeds of up to 8 knots, zig-zagging around and changing direction without warning. The captain was having quite a time trying to keep up with them. It got the point where we just idled as the whales continued moving closer, then farther away and then closer again while they battled.  They even left a massive make in the water, hundreds of feet across, as they battled and raced.

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
1 + 1 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

False Killer Whales

Submitted on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 2:46pm

 

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
11 + 9 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Competition is heating up!

Submitted on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 3:47pm

 

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
1 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Interspecies Interactions

Submitted on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 10:57am

 

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
4 + 2 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Old boat strike scars

Submitted on Wed, 01/26/2011 - 5:24pm

 

While out on the water a few days ago we spotted a very active mother and calf off in the distance. The mother breached and soon after the calf copied its mother, repeatedly. As we got closer to all the commotion, we noticed something interesting about the mother. She had a series of long, thin, parallel scars running down a large portion of her back. As the calf tired out, it rested on its mother rostrum, giving us the chance to get some good photos of the scaring on the mother humpback’s back. Check out the pictures.

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
9 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Our first full week!

Submitted on Fri, 01/21/2011 - 2:16pm

 

Bio: 
Dominique Richardson
Image: 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
19 + 1 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Syndicate content