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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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  • Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) cooperative feeding using a bubble net, I You Seen Cove, Chatham Strait, Southeast Alaska, USA.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet30.jpg
  • Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet29.jpg
  • Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet23.jpg
  • This was one of the most unusual pods of bubble net feeding whales because of the appearance of some of their flukes every time they lunged to the surface. The co-operative feeding groups that use bubble nets to catch herring are very cohesive teams of individuals that feed together every summer, and their herding and feeding manoeuvres are tightly choreographed for maximum efficiency. This is the only pod that I witnessed using their flukes in this manner as part of their strategy.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet24.jpg
  • This photo illustrates the power of the whales when they surge to the surface. Their gaping jaws, scooping up hundreds of litres of sea water and fish, must exert a tremendous amount of drag. Some of the herring they were pursuing can be see flying through the air to escape their open mouths.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet20.jpg
  • Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) cooperative feeding using a bubble net, Morris Reef, Point Hayes, Chatham Strait, Southeast Alaska, USA.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet26.jpg
  • Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet22.jpg
  • The left eye of the whale in the foreground is clearly visible and shut. The whales are lunging at such close proximity that they usually close their eyes to protect them from any damage, particularly from the flippers that are usually heavily encrusted with barnacles. Whales that are regular members of these teams of bubble net feeders are very distinctive because of all of the scratches inflicted on their bodies by barnacles.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet16.jpg
  • The tightly packed baleen plates are clearly visible. They are smooth on the outside, and coarse and bristly on the inside. They have a series of 270-400 fringed overlapping plates hanging from each side of the upper jaw, where teeth might otherwise be located.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet31.jpg
  • This was my first successful entry in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. I was Highly Commended for this photo of a lunge-feeding whale in the endangered species category in about 1994.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet2.jpg
  • Sometimes the cooperative feeding group would surface unexpectedly. If the sea was calm and there were plenty of seabirds around to help me to track the whales then it was easier, but if it was more difficult to see the bubbles on the surface or there were distracting sounds of boat engines in the vicinity then anything could happen, and on this occasion the whales exploded out of the water right behind me and I barely had enough time to swivel around to take a photo.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet21.jpg
  • Some of the herring they are catching are clearly visible above the lunging whales. This was taken during a period of clear weather when there was a forest fire hundreds of miles away in the Yukon Territory, which created the unusual lighting.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet25.jpg
  • The seabirds were such an integral part of my experiences with bubble net feeding whales. They followed the feeding whales just as tirelessly as I did from dawn to dusk, and probably beyond. I sometimes relied on them as an early-warning system to indicate where the whales were going to be surfacing, although quiet a lot of times there were false alarms and sometimes there were two different "opinions' going in opposite directions. It wasn't so important to watch them if it was calm because I could usually see the circle of bubbles on the surface, and estimate where the middle of the bubble net was. It was then just a matter of trying to stay as close to the bubbles as possible to avoid the centre where they would be surfacing. But sometimes if the sea was a bit choppy it became a bit more ambiguous because I couldn't tell which way the circle was curving. The best indicators if ever they were around were the sea lions, that always knew exactly where the whales were underwater.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet4.jpg
  • Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet8.jpg
  • Humpback whales generally have heavy encrustations of barnacles on their throats, pectoral fins and flukes. Whale barnacles are barnacles belonging to the family Coronulidae. Whale barnacles attach themselves to the bodies of baleen whales during the barnacles's free-swimming larval stage. Though often described as parasites, the relationship is an example of obligate commensalism, as the barnacles neither harm, nor benefit, their host. But they are parasitised by whale lice that are actually amphipods: tiny crustaceans that feed off dead skin and pieces of flesh from their host. In normal situations, population of these parasites seem to stay in check, thereby not hurting their large hosts. Cetacean cyamid species are specific to different species of cetaceans and the one that lives on humpbacks is Cyamus boopis.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet32.jpg
  • Here is one member of the “Fantastic Five”, as I dubbed them, feeding on the Morris Reef. It clearly illustrates the moment when the whale shuts its jaws very quickly and firmly, and any water contained is forcefully ejected out through the baleen plates, and any prey is trapped inside its mouth. Also clearly visible are the distinctive bumps or “tubercles” on the rostrum of a humpback whale that are found on no other species of whale. Each tubercle has a small hair or “vibrissae”, that probably act like whiskers as sensory organs for detecting their prey.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet10.jpg
  • This photo shows how much the whales' jaws are distended when lunge feeding like this. A solitary Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) can be seen in the middle as well as the bristles on the inside of the baleen plates.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet11.jpg
  • This photo was taken near the Tlingit village of Kake on Kupreanof Island and illustrates the problems of the practice of clear-cut logging that persisted during the 1980s and 90s when I was based in Southeast Alaska. The extent of clear-cutting was much worse around native communities because the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) awarded approximately 148,500,000 acres (601,000 km2) of Federal land in Alaska to private native corporations which were created under ANCSA. Transference of public National Forest land to a privately owned corporation removes it from protection by Federal law and allows the owners to use the land in whatever way they see fit without regard to the effects of the use on surrounding lands and ecosystems. This fact has caused much controversy involving the business interests of Native Regional Corporations and the personal interests of local Natives and non-Native residents of Southeastern Alaska, such as subsistence hunting and tourism.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet6.jpg
  • Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet17.jpg
  • This feeding group clearly illustrates a typical formation with either one or two lead whales ascending vertically out of the water and the rest surfacing on their sides. Sometimes there was more than one lead whale, but quite often it was just one.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet19.jpg
  • It seemed like there was an ever-increasing number of pleasure boats every year from the early days when sometimes I was blissfully alone with the whales all day. There was an increasing number of whale-watching boats as well as research boats; on one occasion i witnessed twenty different boats surrounding a pod of bubble netting whales. Most of the time the whales just continued their behaviour uninterrupted, but sometimes I witnessed them aborting their lunging and moving away to get away from a particularly noisy and intrusive boat, which included a research boat on one occasion.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet28.jpg
  • This was the photo that won the Mammal Behavior Category in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition in 2002. It wasn’t until after I attended the award ceremony at the Natural History Museum that I discovered that many of the judges were unhappy that it wasn’t awarded the title of the overall winner of the competition, and I subsequently discovered that that was the general public consensus as well. It was unfortunate that the controversy that surrounded the overall winner that year soured such a proud moment in my photographic career. I was contacted a few years later by the new head of the judging panel, Mark Carwardine, to ask for any guidelines for submitting a winning photo, because he felt that my photo was the best entry that year. C’est la vie !<br />
But the moment that can never be diminished or tainted was the moment that I captured the image. I was photographing a bubble net feeding group very near the community of Tenakee Springs, which can be seen to the left of the whale. They came up behind me and I can clearly remember zooming my lens back so that I could fit the entire throat of the whale into the photo, and fortunately I was just able to do that or else it might not have been a perfect award-winning photo.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet33.jpg
  • This is just before its distended throat contracts and the water is forced through its baleen plates as seen in the next photo. Clearly visible are the distinctive bumps or “tubercles” on the rostrum of a humpback whale that are found on no other species of whale. Each tubercle has a small hair or “vibrissae”, that probably act like whiskers as sensory organs for detecting their prey.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet9.jpg
  • This was the "Famous Five" group of bubble netters that I became so familiar with around the Morris Reef at Point Hayes. I became familiar with all of their physical differences like the colouration and markings under their throats. The one on the left was the most distinctive with its pink throat and the circular scars where barnacles had dropped off; it was always one of the lead whales that lunged vertically. Humpback whales are usually identified by the distinctive colouration, markings and scars on the ventral side of the flukes. I could also identify them by the distinctive sound of each blow: some are more explosive: some more guttural: some sound like a ricochet: some are more like sneezes.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet7.jpg
  • This photo clearly illustrates how distended the whales’ throat becomes when they lunge to the surface. They can dislocate their jaws like a snake does, and when they first reach the surface their jaws are open almost a full 180 degrees and their throat-poach hangs from their lower jaw like the throat-pouch of a pelican. The colouration of the throats varies and it was another means of identifying individuals. The open ventral pleats of this one appear to be pink because of the lack of pigmentation revealing the blood-rich tissue beneath. They really are a curious sight when their throats are fully distended like that, and they reminded me of Jabba the Hutt from the Star Wars movies.<br />
The formation of this bubble net feeding group also shows how there is always at least one lead whale that surfaces vertically, while the rest appear in a more lateral position around it. The individual whales that are regular members of the feeding group always maintain the same position in the tightly choreographed arrangement during the feeding ascent.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet3.tif
  • This was a typical bubble net feeding group with a permanent core of six individuals, but the size of the group would sometimes expand to about ten with the arrival of “guests”.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet18.jpg
  • I became very familiar with the individual whales that made up the cooperative bubblenet feeding groups. I could identify them by their flukes, markings on their throats, barnacles and even sometimes by the sounds they made.<br />
I had known Dr Fred Sharpe of the Alaska Whale Foundation for many years during his research into the cooperative bubble net feeding strategies employed by the humpback whales of Southeast Alaska. He was particularly interested in the genetic relatedness of individual whales within and between cooperative pods, in addition to the local genetic sub-structuring of the population. He discovered that social foraging humpback whale pods possess a social complexity that is rarely observed in baleen whales. For example, individuals within these groups may develop long-term associations that may last for many years. There also appears to be a division of labour, with particular whales constantly leading the group, deploying the bubble nets, and producing the feeding calls. Furthermore, on each lunge, each whale in the group maintains the same position, indicating that this is an intrinsically choreographed feeding maneuver. My own personal observations with the same feeding groups over the course of the summer also bore this out. I observed how there were always core members of a group but other individual whales appeared to join them on a much more ad hoc basis before moving off again.<br />
He ascertained that it is only the more elusive, shoaling prey, such as Pacific herring, that require the same level of cooperative cohesiveness; easier prey such as krill do not require the same sophisticated feeding strategies as do shoaling fish.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet15.jpg
  • This was the cooperative bubble net feeding group of 5 whales that regularly frequented the Morris Reef and I had many close encounters with. This photo clearly illustrates the structure and function of the baleen plates hanging from the roof of the whales’ mouth: they are smooth on the outside and frayed and bristly on the inside, thus creating a dense mat of coarse hairs to prevent any prey from escaping. The clearly defined palette in the roof of the mouth is also visible as is the common, distinctive pink “moustache” marking on the snout.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet12.jpg
  • Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet14.jpg
  • Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet27.jpg
  • Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet13.jpg
  • There is so much power when the whales explode to the surface when they are feeding cooperatively with bubble nets. I could almost feel the energy being transmitted through the air and water when they exploded to the surface like this.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet5.jpg
  • This was the place where I observed and photographed their spectacular cooperative feeding using a bubble net the most. Their baleen plates can clearly be seen in this photo. They have about 330 pairs of dark gray baleen plates with coarse gray bristles on the inside hanging from the jaws. They are about 25 inches (0.6 m) long and 13.5 inches (34 cm) wide. They act as filters to trap their prey when they shut their mouths and expel the water.
    Alaska-humpbackwhale-bubblenet1.jpg
  • The cave racer (Elaphe taeniura) is the only snake which is adapted to spend its whole life in a cave, feeding exclusively on bats and swiftlets.­ It is non-venomous.­
    Borneo-Gunung-Mulu-reptile1.tif
  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-reptiles35.jpg
  • Three brown bear (Ursos arctos) siblings at a dump, Angoon, Admiralty Island, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
I often caught the Alaska Marine Highway local ferry to the native town of Angoon on Admiralty Island before paddling across to my camp at Point Hayes on Chichagof Island. I had to walk past the city dump to get to the town to buy provisions, and there were usually brown bears foraging there, and particularly three young siblings who had apparently lost their mother. They became quite familiar with me and recognized me as someone who didn’t provide them with any food; most people who drove to the dump were providing them with reject salmon. <br />
But one of the three young siblings was more aggressive than the other two and on one occasion it kept advancing towards me expecting me to provide it with something to eat. I decided to teach it a lesson, that people are dangerous, as indeed they are, particularly to dump bears because once they lose their fear of humans they are easy targets for hunters. I was carrying a red pepper bear deterrent spray but when I tried to fire it at the bear I discovered that there was no pressure left in the canister and the contents just trickled down my arm; it was out of pressure when I was under pressure! So I threw the useless canister towards the bear so that it would stop to investigate it and then I climbed on top of an old car. Bears are inquisitive like dogs and I usually carried a few stones in my pocket to distract any bears that might try to be too friendly.
    wildlife-7.tif
  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-reptiles36.jpg
  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-reptiles39.jpg
  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-reptiles37.jpg
  • Madagascar is home to about half the world’s chameleons, including both subfamilies, typical chameleons and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae). Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colours. Contrary to popular belief, they do not change colours to match their surroundings. Instead colour is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates. They have two layers of specialized cells that lie just beneath the lizard’s transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below them is another layer of cells called guanophores, containing the colourless crystalline substance guanin, which reflect the blue part of incidental light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated under the blue and white light-reflecting guanophores. These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigment, thereby influencing the colour of the light that is reflected.<br />
Other notable features are bulging eyes that move independently, enabling them to be able to look ahead and behind at the same time, feet with paired toes fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally, arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing, and some species have long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance often greater than their length.<br />
They are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid colour change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for their prey, and move in a curiously, tentative swaying manner. Their bodies are very narrow enabling them easier passage through foliage.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-reptiles38.jpg
  • I often caught the Alaska Marine Highway local ferry to the native town of Angoon on Admiralty Island before paddling across to my camp at Point Hayes on Chichagof Island. I had to walk past the city dump to get to the town to buy provisions, and there were usually brown bears foraging there, and particularly three young siblings who had apparently lost their mother. They became quite familiar with me and recognized me as someone who didn’t provide them with any food; most people who drove to the dump were providing them with reject salmon. <br />
But one of the three young siblings was more aggressive than the other two and on one occasion it kept advancing towards me expecting me to provide it with something to eat. I decided to teach it a lesson, that people are dangerous, as indeed they are, particularly to dump bears because once they lose their fear of humans they are easy targets for hunters. I was carrying a red pepper bear deterrent spray but when I tried to fire it at the bear I discovered that there was no pressure left in the canister and the contents just trickled down my arm; it was out of pressure when I was under pressure! So I threw the useless canister towards the bear so that it would stop to investigate it and then I climbed on top of an old car. Bears are inquisitive like dogs and I usually carried a few stones in my pocket to distract any bears that might try to be too friendly.
    Alaska-wildlife-bearAlaska-wildlifeA...jpg