European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 18, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse This Tail breaching Humpback whale was observed during a recent research cruise in the Caribbean by the Center lot coastal studies of Provincetown mass. Louril boats is the right whale so named because it was the easiest or right one to catch. They Are slow they float when filled and so they were he most heavily slaughtered. An estimated 200 to 300 right whales swim in the North allanic Waters part of a world population of 1,900. Whale watchers have Only Aboul a s percent Chance to see a right whale Mayo says though last year sightings were More numerous when Al Avellar. Captain of the first of the Cape cod whale watching boats went out with a Boatload of schoolchildren he had a rare Day spoiling Between 30 and 50 right whales. Mayo who was aboard in t quite convinced of the numbers. To Tell you the truth i was t very Good a identifying whales Bach Ihen Fie of the whales we thought were right whales May not have this year the Cape cod boats have report of to sightings of great Blue whales. The largest animals known. There s uncertainty whether two individuals were involved of just one sighted twice. Bolh reports estimated the whale s length Al 75 feet. The Groat Blu whale rare and endangered can reach 95 feel Humpback whales also endangered reach 50 Leel and put on the Besl show Lor watchers because they like to breach or jump they Are Best known perhaps for their thrilling song about 10,000 Are left worldwide with about 5.700 in the North Allan tic Mayo says the whale watching boats have contributed Aboul 80 percent of the data base the censer has on humpbacks. Arguably we have the largest data base on humpbacks Wilh a Long history on individuals and maybe 30.000 to 40,000 photographs from the whale watch Boals provided the first clues that Complete songs were Sung in the North nol just in the whales brooding grounds in the Caribbean. They sol us on the Trail to investigate the singing in the no la Mayo says the Center works close Wilh Avellar � moot of whale watching boats operating out of Cape cod f to Heel donates about i 10.000 a year from ticket Salus la the Center and a scientist goes Oul on each in More importantly they allow us Access to the Public to let people know what we arc doing Here Mayo says. Irene Saipt is one such whale watcher. She is the principal investigator in the Sinback whale project in which the censer is trying to Ide Lily individuals As it has with humpbacks. The Center has a Catalon of 400 identified humpbacks and photographs of their tails or flukes which arc quite distinctive to the trained Eye of a whale watcher. To a whale expert they Are As individual As a human fingerprint the right whales Are also unequivocally identifiable by the Cal Josities or bumps on their Heads. The Fin backs Are tougher to differentiate but the censer now has Inion Tilhod Aboul 100 individual ones the Fin whales Are the largest whales tourists Are Likely to encounter. They go to 50 tons and 70 feel in length. Seiple the Center s Lin Export and scientist aboard a recent cruise noles the location and water temperature every 20 minutes to track the species. She photographs every whale she sees noting How it us into the location and water temperature. The whale researchers gather enough data Over the Louril season to keep Busy cataloguing it All Winter Baals begin going out in api l and continue through the end of october the Center has untangled five Humpback whales from Lishing nets and in one Case watched a Dison Langvod whale named ibis come swimming Back the following summer Wilh a Call we have Throo generations of whales named Mayo says. Mayo and Dave Makhla wont Oul on rubber rafts and essentially used die same techniques to untangle the whales that Mayo s lather used when he hunted whales. They attached flotation gear to the netting and Woie the whale Down enough so Hal she surfaced and they could Cul Tho netting that bound her neither of us is very says Mayo who Cul ibis Dee on thanksgiving Day of 1984 ii was scary before and alter bul Here was t time to be frightened while to did it one whale watch boat the voyager is owned by Iho sunday october 18, 1987 Boston aquarium and sails from Boston Harbor the whale specialist aboard is Elliot Edwards and to and Captain Doug Hall can not Only Lind the loll tale souls bul can usually Tell the species of the spotter irom the spurt of water. This particular Day Aboul 15 Fin backs arc spoiled bul nol Humpback we had a great show the other Day says Hall. We had a Humpback cow and her Call doing excessive failure to sight a whale irom a tourist boat is rare and most boats Issue a rain Check of sorts whale watcher David Riley thinks that s terrible if people Aren l willing to risk $15 to see some of Iho largest animals Leaf Ever lived they Don t deserve to see a he cays. Mayo has a doctoral in Marine sciences but Many whale expels have become exports by being Shore at mass strand mrs. Aboard whale watching Boals for prolonged repetitive observations Wiley who works Lof the aquarium has a degree in wildlife biology but the rest of the school is Iho he says a naive of Albany. N.y., he did t see the Ocean unit the was 24. Years ago the difference Between being a researcher and a naturalist is How much you re willing to Suller Lor an he says. My Job is 16 hours a Day Wii no retirement no insurance i watched whales for years before i could make unemotional comments Asl recorded Hedaia " Greg Early. Inc aquarium g cd Phil on a landings. Agrees Wilh Wiley about me Aura of whale watching i m sprung on Iho same line As everyone else. He says of Iudica 13 the Aichu Sypal whale Book it s a real animal a mythical animal a to Echon of our imagination you be fool to use your imagination a lol in study mrs whales to they worn i so ram Rel hard to study. Ihnn Why Guidy them Early describes himself As a biologist Wilh a smattering of graduate courses who has also moved to expert Stalus by Viilo o just being their. I m an Export because i have Henn Al seven mass standings in the last five years and you could got everybody who can say that together in a very Small room " the stars and stripes Page 17
