Humpback whales off Hawaii

Thousands of humpback whales gather off Hawaii in the winter months (December to April), especially to give birth and mate. During this time they eat little or no food but rely on their fat reserves. The young animals are often on the surface of the water because they cannot dive for that long.

They can also usually be easily recognized from land by the fountains that come out of the blowholes. So when you exhale through the nostrils, which are located at the top. And because humpback whales don't have gills, they have to come to the surface regularly.

They are also easy to recognize when they jump out of the water. However, it is an absolute stroke of luck if you can capture this moment in a picture.

More often only a part can be seen. The caudal fin or also called fluke or the pectoral fin also called flipper. Both fins have special meaning: the whales hit the water with their fluke, so they can produce sounds and communicate.

https://de.whales.org/wale-delfine/artenschutz-und-forschung/flukenidentification-wale-erkennen/

The pinball machines also have numerous special functions. This causes the whales to hit the water and also create noise. It can be heard from far above and in the water. The songs of the male whales can be heard using special hydrophones. It is a multi-voiced sound similar to when many birds sing in the forest, only a little different. The singing changes from year to year - there is always a new hit that the singers take on or pass on.

The shape of the flipper is very important for quick steering underwater and the many bumps on the front surfaces are easy to see.

Researchers have found that this makes a lot of aerodynamic sense as it prevents a stall.

We are currently testing whether these properties can also be transferred to helicopter rotor blades:

https://www.dlr.de/next/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-7773/13263_read-33745/

If that works, it would be a brilliant example of successful bionics.

Diving with whales is absolutely fascinating, but you shouldn't get too close to the animals. We initially stuck to land observation and whale watching from the boat, but you never know what might come next.

Aloha