This previous weekend, on July 24, onlookers captured unusual video footage of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) launching out of the water and landing on a nearby boat off the coast of Plymouth, Massachusetts. This incident joins a handful of others in the past decade– including close calls in the exact same area simply days previously– in which whales have actually hit seacraft, raising the question of simply how aware the oceanic giants are of whats going on at the surface.John Calambokidis, a marine mammal biologist and research study researcher with the Washington-based not-for-profit Cascadia Research Collective, spoke with The Scientist after evaluating the footage. He keeps in mind that baleen whales such as humpbacks do not have the very same sensory abilities as their echolocating, toothed loved ones. And as a result, “from time to time we see this in our work; the whale will either be distracted when its feeding, or it might be engaged in social behavior or oblivious for other reasons,” he says. Even still, based upon his 40-year career, Calambokidis says that “as a general guideline, whales are quite mindful of their surroundings,” which these collisions (a minimum of those with little vessels) remain relatively rare.He adds, nevertheless, that there are conditions that are most likely to lead to these sorts of encounters, which the recent video touches on a couple of. That day off Plymouth, both fishers and whales had gathered off the coast because of an enormous school of herring; in the video, there are more than a dozen vessels crowding the water around where the crash took place. This high density of vessels, Calambokidis says, “develops a proximity threat, simply since thats something humpback whales feed upon too.” Talking to The Boston Herald, Laura Howes, director of the naturalist program at New England Aquarium Whale Watch, includes that “whales are pretty wise and can avoid boats, however with that many small recreational boats in the area, its like trying to feed in a rats nest of boats.” And while they do not echolocate, humpback whales do depend on sound, and its likely the area around the schooling fish was rather loud, Calambokidis states, with engines and the pings of fishfinders developing a complex undersea soundscape. Its possible that the whale just got for a moment disoriented. He includes that he has observed while tagging whales in areas with a lot of boat traffic, such as the entryway to the San Francisco Bay, that some animals appear less attentive to noise overall. “Those whales were a few of the more oblivious I had actually seen to our technique to release the tag,” he states. “And I wondered the very same thing, if at some point, theres a lot sound that they tune that out or ignore it.” Harbor officials tell The New York Post that at the time of the occurrence, a minimum of one additional patrol boat was currently present in the location after another whale had bumped a vessel a few days prior. In both cases, the boats were not significantly damaged and no injuries were reported, although the Massachusetts Environmental Police are investigating the event, according to the Herald. The status of the whales associated with the accidents stays unidentified, although they did not seem injured. “This might have been much even worse for all included,” Plymouth Harbormaster Chad Hunter tells the Post. “Children like to lean over the side of the boat to see the fish so it is extremely fortunate that nobody got injured here. An occurrence like this is quite rare but very harmful to boaters.” To reduce the risk of these types of collisions, Calambokidis states that the very best option is simply to give the animals area, a minimum of 100 lawns. “Any time youre out on the water, try to keep your distance from whales if you see them in the location,” he tells The Scientist. “Thats the very best method to keep both them and you safe.”
And while they dont echolocate, humpback whales do rely on sound, and its most likely the area around the schooling fish was quite loud, Calambokidis says, with engines and the pings of fishfinders developing a complicated underwater soundscape. He adds that he has actually observed while tagging whales in areas with a lot of boat traffic, such as the entrance to the San Francisco Bay, that some animals seem less mindful to noise in general.” Harbor authorities inform The New York Post that at the time of the event, at least one additional patrol boat was already present in the location after another whale had actually bumped a vessel a few days prior. “Any time youre out on the water, attempt to keep your distance from whales if you see them in the area,” he informs The Scientist.
