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X-Ray Magazine :: Issue 35 :: April 2010

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X-Ray Magazine :: Issue 35 :: April 2010 SpermText and photos by Eric Cheng Whales Of Dominica 30 X-RAY MAG : 35 : 2010 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED feature Sperm Whales The memory of my first sperm whale encounter is so visceral that I can almost feel myself there again if I close my eyes. As is common to most whale encounters, it wasn’t a particularly long one; the juvenile male merely drifted by slowly, effortlessly, turning on his side so he could stare at me with a tiny little eye before disappearing into the blue. To him, I was probably nothing more than a passing curiosity—an awkward sack of meat wrapped in neoprene—but the experience was an overwhelming one for me, and I knew that I wanted more. The sperm whale is the canonical whale, its form immortalized by books and drawings centuries old. When you ask a child to draw a whale, it is likely that what will come out of her developing mind most likely resembles a sperm whale, an animal with a huge, box-like head and tiny pectoral fins whose evolution seems to defy logical explanation. Given that there seem to be sperm whales distributed all over THIS PAGE AND PREVIOUS PAGE: Sperm whales are common and have a wide geographic distribution, which means that they can be found in almost every part of the world. Sperm whales often only have teeth on the lower jaw (left) used to hold and eat their prey, giant squid 31 X-RAY MAG : 35 : 2010 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED feature Sperm Whales Sperm whales are social animals that form family pods which interact. A group of whales in close formation surface for air (above). Close- encounter with a sperm whale that likes to get close to humans (left) the world, why is it that they female sperm whales do not are so shrouded in mystery? migrate, making it much less Most whale enthusiasts I know probable that you will have a talk fervently about humpback random encounter with a sperm whales, but grow quiet when whale unless you go to the sperm whales come up. Few places where they live. of them have ever seen a sperm whale, even on the So where do sperm surface. Sperm whales are not whales live? rare. I’m told that sperm whale Sperm whales live where their populations are quite healthy, food lives. I’ve had luck at both and that their geographic of the places I’ve traveled to in distribution is wide, which means search of the mighty cetaceans: that they can be found in Ogasarawa, a group of islands almost every area of the world. 620 miles south/south-west I don’t mean to state the of Tokyo, and Dominica, an obvious, but it turns out that all island in the central Caribbean. you have to do to see a sperm Both island chains sit at the whale is travel to where they intersection of grinding tectonic live. Although mature male plates and have ridgelines sperm whales do migrate from that drop off steeply under polar regions to mating grounds the ocean’s surface. In both in the tropics, juvenile and locations, sperm whales are A mother sperm whale and her baby calf descend 32 X-RAY MAG : 35 : 2010 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED feature Sperm Whales Sperm whales are found on the surface of the water down to about 1,000 meters deep where they hunt giant squid. ABOVE: A sperm whale named Scar has enjoyed meeting humans since the day he was born and is thought to have encouraged other whales to tolerate human presence, too found on the surface along underwater since the day he was born. Andrew Armour, whales, and two local pods happened to topography about 1000 meters deep, where our local guide in Dominica, has spent be aggregating into social groups while we their prey — large and giant squid — live. countless hours in the water with Scar and were there. During social gatherings, the In Ogasawara, I photographed a sperm believes that Scar has been a “gateway whales let us get as close as we wanted whale with an Architeuthis dux giant squid whale” in that others whales in the area to (we were careful of flukes thrashing up carcass in its mouth — a first, I’m told — seem to also tolerate human presence in and down, of course — there was a lot but it was in Dominica that I had the most the water. of surface activity!). Still, we never tried to incredible whale encounters of my life. Scar, Getting into the water with Scar for the touch any of these whales because they a 10-year old male sperm whale, has been first time was a bit intimidating. Although he are fundamentally wild animals, and lack of initiating human encounters almost literally is a young male, he is still about ten meters respect could easily lead to a response that long and comes barreling at snorkelers, might cause injury or death. sometimes not stopping until physical During social gatherings, sperm whales rub contact is made. Indeed, I spent as much against each other and communicate non- time swimming away from Scar as I did stop by clicking, clanging and wheezing trying to photograph him, and in the end, (like dolphins do). I observed that a good I ended up putting my camera down and number of the juvenile males became giving him a good rub. Scar closed his eyes, sexually aroused when rubbing against and his huge body wiggled slightly under my each other. Photography conditions were hands, like a 12-ton puppy might do in the fantastic during the beginning of each same situation. social gathering, but after ten minutes or Our group spent a lot of time in the water so, the water around the cluster of whales with other sperm whales in Dominica as was often filled with micro-bubbles and well. Local researchers and whale watch sloughed-off sperm whale skin, which looks operators have identified dozens of resident like sheets of thin, black plastic. A piece of sloughed-off sperm whale skin floats by 33 X-RAY MAG : 35 : 2010 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED Sperm Whales feature During social gatherings, sperm whales rub against each other and communicate con- tinually by clicking, clanging and wheezing (like dolphins do). As sperm whales are a pro- tected species, in-water whale encounters are illegal without the necessary research permits I hope to return to Ogasawara have been inundated with regularly book tourists on charters and Dominica next year for more requests for sperm whale snorkel to swim with humpback whales. opportunities to photograph and trips since these images were I highly recommend an in-water film sperm whales. Six months ago, released to the press. For the most experience with a large cetacean, the thought of seeing a sperm part, in-water whale encounters but remember: always follow your whale underwater was just an are illegal without the necessary guide’s instructions, and get in abstract dream. It was only through research permits, and I don’t good swimming shape before you a combination of careful planning know of anywhere in the world go! and incredible luck that I was given where casual hobbyists are See Eric’s Dominica trip report the opportunity to capture the allowed to get into the water with (including video of sperm whales) images presented in this portfolio. sperm whales. However, Tonga here: http://echeng.com/journal/ Tourist operations in Dominica and the Dominican Republic tag/dominica2010/ ■ Underwater photographer and writer, Eric Cheng 34 X-RAY MAG : 35 : 2010 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED Sharks: Close media Hammerhead Encounters nails shark facts This new book is dedicated to sharks and tells the story of the Of all the sharks in the sea, hammerheads authors’ close encounters with have to be the strangest with their unique wide this fascinating species. Compiled POINT & CLICK snouts. Learn why scientists feel the creatures by Peter Verhoog and Georgina ON BOLD LINKS developed this hammer formation and a myri- Wiersma, the book has 18 exciting ad of facts about the species in “Hammerhead chapters covering personal adven- Sharks” by Alessandro de Maddalena and Alex tures with many species of sharks, “The Sharkman” Buttigieg. The 128-page book from the small sharks of the kelp from Ireco Press is filled with color photos and forests to the great white shark This Media page is brought to you by black and white drawings of hammerheads photographed without a cage. On Book Log compiled by Robert Sterner that the authors have produced over decades Verhoog’s website, you can find of Sterner Editorial Services. Read earlier of studying sharks. De Maddalena is president an exciting video clip of him diving Book Log reviews by genre or call atten- of the Italian Ichthyological Society and a with a very large tiger shark that tion to books and videos to review at member of the Mediterranean Shark Research tries to pull his expensive under- www.sternereditorial.com Group. The book is a compendium of centu- water camera out of this hands. ries of shark research by scientists around the Public interest in the oceans and world. Although the authors present information sharks has grown immensely. Most in scientific terms, they explain everything in publications about sharks, up to Face up laymen language that is easy to read yet high- now, have been biological texts ly informative.
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