Eye To Giant Eye

My kayak and I were bobbing about in the channel between Kaho'olawe, Molokini and Maui. Since there appeared to be no whales nearby, I was frolicking in the water, diving down to listen to the whale song, joyfully watching the sun rays dance in the azure depths. Very close, I heard the blow of a whale, looked over in that direction and found myself eye to giant eye with a 1 ton baby whale, inquisitive to see this creature who was flailing on the surface. Mom was just beyond, allowing baby to get a close look to satisfy it's curiosity. As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared, with one flick of their fluke they blended into the deep.

Out of respect for the whales, and legally, one cannot approach a whale within 100 yards. Yet, if the whale comes toward you within those 100 yards, you need to stop forward momentum and remain in place. Remain in place I did, I was frozen, unable to move and unable to breath!

Wow! What a feeling to be up close and personal with such a magnificent creature! Funny, but the baby appeared massive and small simultaneously. I somehow thought seeing a whale underwater I would feel dwarfed. I did not, yet it's presence was bigger than big!

From December to April, the Humpback whales are in our Hawaiian waters to mate and to give birth. The babies are born in our warm water with a low birth weight, so are fattened through the winter months with rich yogurt like milk from mom. After they grow and gain some fat, they can survive the journey back to the cold Alaskan waters where they feed all summer on krill.

The gestation period of a female is 12 months. Those who mate this year will return next year to give birth to a bouncy 1 ton, 10-20 foot baby humpback.