July 14, 2009

The wonder of whalewatching

Philip Hoare, author of the 2009 Samuel Johnson Prize winning Leviathan or, The Whale, shares photographs from his whalewatching expeditions off Cape Codd and the Azores

Whale watching: Common dolphin — The waters of the Azores are rich in marine mammals, especially dolphin. Bottle nose, spotted, striped and Risso's dolphin are regularly seen, as are common dolphin, here riding the bow of our boat Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Feeding humpbacks — Here two humpbacks are drag-feeding at the surface. You can even see the sand-eels jumping out, as if to escape Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Fin whale — Fin whales are second only to blue whales in size, reaching 85 feet in length. Known as 'greyhounds of the sea', individuals may be identified from shadings known as chevrons on their backs. Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Humpback — Stellwagen Bank, off Cape Cod, is a fertile feeding ground for humpbacks when they return from their six-month fasts in the Caribbean Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Humpback breach repeatedly — Often, humpbacks will breach repeatedly, in the same spot, for up to half an hour. The energy used in these displays is immense; breaching seems to occur after the animals have been feeding Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Humpback feeding — A sure sign of feeding humpbacks is a cloud of opportunistic gulls. Sometimes birds will enter the whales' mouths to pluck out sand-eels and occasionally get trapped, only to be released at the next gulp Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Humpback fluke — The underside of every humpback's tail, or flukes, carries a unique pattern which allows individuals to be identified. This whale is named Filament, after the narrow black line on its righthand fluke Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Humpback underwater — This humpback appeared off the side of the boat last month. It hung perpendicularly, watching us through the water, like a watery alien. The onboard naturalist admitted he'd never seen this strange position before Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: North Atlantic right whale — North Atlantic right whales are one of the rarest species - fewer than 400 remain. The strange growths on their heads are known as callosities, and are filled with parasites known as whale lice, or cyamids Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Sperm whale — A diving sperm whale off Pico, in the Azores. The deep waters here are perfect feeding grounds for these whales, 90% of whose diet consists of squid Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Sperm whale — Sperm whales may hang at right angles to the surface, looking up through the water to see what's happening, in behaviour known as 'spy-hopping' Photograph: Philip Hoare

Whale watching: Whale breach — No-one knows why whales breach - it may be a means of communication, or ridding their bodies of parasites. To me, it just looks like fun. Photograph: Philip Hoare

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