|
|
Whale watching trip
Baleen Whales
Baleen whales do not have teeth. Instead they have narrow, triangular plates of baleen growing down from their upper jaw. The baleen acts like a giant strainer to sift out the food from the sea water. All baleen whales have two blowholes. They are often called the great whales. The Caribbean is an important mating and calving area for baleen whales.
Toothed Whales
Toothed whales include porpoises, dolphins and all whales with teeth. These animals are generally smaller than the baleen whales, with the exception of the sperm whale. All toothed whales have one blowhole. Although fishermen call many toothed whales "porpoises", scientists call them dolphins. Porpoises have spade shaped teeth;
Sperm
Whale
Scientific name: Physeter
catadon
Local name: Sea wap or sea guap
Length: males
up to 15 meters (46 feet)
females
9-10 metres (28-31 feet)
Distinctive
Markings
Head: huge,
boxlike; single blowhole, on left side of forehead
Teeth: narrow lower
jaw with 18-25 large, cone shaped teeth on each side. These teeth fit into sockets
in the upper jaw
Flipper: short and stubby
Dorsal fin: no
back fin but a raised hump located 2/3 back from the snout
Body: brown:
wrinkled skin behind head; triangular tail flukes, dark brown on both sides
with deep central notch
Behaviour: Sperm whales are commonly seen
in small, scattered groups (2-20 animals) usually in deep water but may come
close to shore. Dives may last more than 45 minutes. Between dives, they may
rest on the surface from 8 minutes to nearly an hour.
The following shots were taken using a Nikon F90x with 70-300mm F4.5D zoom lens. The film was Fuji Velvia 100ASA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The top sequence of photographs shows the Sperm whale going through the motion of diving. This was shot with the camera set to Continuos Frame. The powerful 'V' shaped fluke propels the whale down to the depths where they feed. The chances of getting a sequence of shots like this are very limited as once the whale has dived it may not return to the surface for air for another 45 minutes. The small stubby fin and the blowhole on the left hand side of the whales body is visible. Sightings of dolphins are also very common on the whale watching trips. Schools of up to 200 hundred have been observed.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)