Text and photos by Lawson Wood False Killer Whales — Enchanting Cetaceans of Dominica 74 X-RAY MAG : 42 : 2011 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED travel Dominica Once or twice in a rare Blue Moon, opportu- nity sometimes comes along and hits you on the head—or in my case, I was hit on the head—by a juvenile sperm whale. Let me recap. Along with a small group of like-minded conservationists and underwa- ter photographers, we were working under a special per- mit issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries on the Island of Dominica (pronounced DOMINEEKA) to try and iden- tify returning sperm whales and other cetaceans. Dominica is the youngest of the Caribbean islands and is flanked by Guadeloupe to the north and Martinique to the south, which are both French colonies. Inevitably, many of the locals speak a derivative of a French, Carib and West African creole known as Kwéyòl. Ancestors of the original Carib Indians, the Kalinago still live by traditional fishing and farming methods and are rather distinc- tive in appearance, resembling South American Amazon tribes and are much shorter in stature. The Kalinago name for the island is Wai’tukubuli. The local beer is called Kubuli! Extremely mountainous in aspect, two of the peaks are over 1,300 metres (4,500ft). I can honestly say that the topography is incredible with fantastic rain- forest fauna and flora all found within cloud-topped peaks, dra- Eye of scarred sperm whale, Band Aid 75 X-RAY MAG : 42 : 2011 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED travel Dominica CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Pod of false killer whales patrol the seas around Dominica; Rugged coastline of Dominica draped with mist; Pair of false killer whales (inset) encounter any orca (unfortunately also known as killer whales), but they are also known to inhabit these coastal waters, attracted by the large number of juve- niles and calves of the larger whales. Speaking of which, whilst orca are members of the dolphin super family, so are false matic gorges, caverns, waterfalls and tion routes between our hemispheres. killer whales. Like orca, false hidden lakes. There are many hot sulphur Should the opportunity arise, we were killer whales are also known springs and one of the dive sites is known allowed, under permit, to enter the to prey on other dolphins and as “Champagne” due to the continuous water, and under strict guidelines, to sperm whales, however they streams of bubbles coming up through take photographic records for iden- look more like pilot whales, or the reef. tification purposes of the various dol- round-headed dolphins, than anything The underwater reefs also resemble species that we would encoun- phins, nearly resembling an orca, yet they have more tropical dive sites due to the rar- ter. Distinctive scars, color- Fraser’s very similar behaviours. I have renamed ity of curious fish species, thousands of ation and missing body dol- phins them in my personal logbook as killer dol- colourful crinoids, black coral forests and parts are the most obvi- and spotted dolphins phins! superb colourful sponges. ous identifiers. several riding the bow wave of our So, there we were, bobbing along Sperm whales identified individu- research boat. A Bryde’s with the constant drone of our vessel’s And so to sea... (Physeter macro- als have been sighted recur- whale even swam directly engines and the roll of the oceanic swell Struggling along approximately five to cephalus) were at ring over a number of years. However, under us before we could react over 16 kilometers (ten miles) offshore, ten miles off the western (Caribbean) the top of our list, any encounter with any species is not and get in the water. when the distinctive plumed exhalation coast of Dominica, our goal was to cata- as they are one of only random, it is always extremely wel- In the same super family but curiously spray of a sperm whale was seen in the logue as many cetacean species that the more regu- lar spe- come, and we were soon treated to given a ‘whale’ name in their description, distance. Jerry, our captain, quickly cut use these deep waters as breeding and cies encoun- various aerobatic displays by spinner dol- there were pilot whales, false killer whales the engines, dipped his directional hydro- feeding grounds on their annual migra- tered and phins, bottlenose dolphins, pantropical and pygmy sperm whales. We did not phone into the water and confirmed the 76 X-RAY MAG : 42 : 2011 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED travel Dominica THIS PAGE: Views of the cheeky juvenile sperm whale, Band- Aid—nicknamed thus due to the scar over his left eye—that pushed underwater photographer/dive writer Lawson Wood out of the way with its large head sonar clicks of a juvenile sperm whale. named, Band-Aid, due to the curious We maneuvered into position ahead scar over his left eye, he put up with our of our moving target and quietly slipped intrusion into his space for over 20 min- into the water. Undeterred by our pres- utes before he very obviously vented all ence, this young small fellow, at over of his orifices and sounded in front of us. 12 metres (40ft) in length actually swam What an end to a rather perfect day. directly towards us (me!) I then found myself squished between the research Day two boat and a the spy-hopping whale, Day two was another matter altogether. which casually shunted me out of its way There was an ocean, empty of noise, out by its rather large and scarred head. there. Hey, don’t worry—I was out of there! We motored and plunged through a This was a BIG baby beast, which quite rising oceanic swell, and the constant pointedly informed me who was the boss. rain battered our hopes. It was so bad at After the initial shock and seeing my one point that we lost sight of the island compatriots swimming off after Scarface, of Dominica. Our captain continually it took all of my effort to catch up with tried the hydrophone, but other than a them. The sperm whale, which deigned few distant dolphin clicks, there were no to allow me to have an encounter, can whales within ten miles of any of our posi- only be described as magical. Now nick- tions. 77 X-RAY MAG : 42 : 2011 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED travel Dominica CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Landscape shot of Dominica; Playful dolphins mixing in the waves; Typical Dominican homes dot the hillside; Wild dolphin leaps out of the sea Our team leader Brandon Cole they attack their (ever the optimist) informed us intended prey. known (as mentioned) to go into that there may not be any whales So, the ocean stealth mode when hunting, but in our research zone, as they was silent—for when interacting with other dol- always swim away whenever false hours—and phins, they have been observed killer whales are in the vicinity—a then, just in front to mimic the sounds of other spe- behavior that had been observed of us, a black, cies and also to actively hunt and on previous occasions. “So, keep rounded head kill other dolphins. a look out for false killer whales!” breached, and I may well be wrong, but, for he said. then several me, it looked like a young dude They are kind of like large dol- more immedi- had just swam into the wrong phins, with that same wry, or ately behind it. neighbourhood. Soon, the small sly grin, but are almost black in Brandon Cole dolphin was in the middle of colour and have rounded bul- immediately at least ten BIG guys, many of bous heads, not dissimilar to a identified them whom were exhibiting very obvi- pilot whales. as false killer ous sexual behaviour, as well as Impatiently, we strained our whales (Pseudorca crassidens). on the surface. They certainly squeals and whoops trying unsuc- Very quickly, a large male false rather exaggerated movements. eyes as the very patient boat They were hanging around, spotted us before we spotted cessfully to communicate our killer whale returned, swam in Thankfully, whilst this scene was captain scoured the ocean and enjoying their own company and them underwater in the low visibil- love and passion for the species!). and started to escort his ‘cous- being played out beneath us, we deployed his hydrophone to socializing. ity, as we were quickly battered What a joke. They left us flounder- in’ towards the larger group, all had a window of opportunity search for any indication of life in by their sonar clicks when they ing about on the surface. then a second false killer whale to duck-dive down and quickly the depths. Get in the water! all swooped around us, to check Just when we were about to appeared and acted as ‘shot- snap as many photographs as We did not know at the time, With heightened adrenalin and out visually what their sensors give up hope and return to the gun’ on the other side of the dol- possible of this quickly changing but when false killer whales are nervousness, we all entered the were telling them. (Stupid, slow, research boat, a young bottle- phin. I had a moment of unease scenario. hunting, they travel in stealth water and swam slowly towards landlubbers, pretending to be nose dolphin (Tursops truncatus) over the plight of this young The false killer whales (killer mode—completely silent—as where the group could be seen dolphins, uttering unrecognizable appeared.