Even singing whales are not immune to picking up
a catchy tune. Humpback whales living in the waters
of the Great Barrier Reef have astonished scientists
by learning a new melody sung by visitors from a
distant ocean. In less than two years, the giants of the
deep swapped their own distinctive serenade for that
of their wandering Indian Ocean cousins. Australian
marine biologists believe the males copied the songs of
the migrants to stop potential female suitors from
losing interest. And they think it is an unprecedented
example of a "cultural revolution" in whale songs.
<br>Male humpback whales sing on their way to and from
their mating grounds in the waters of the Great Barrier
Reef off the east coast of Australia. Normally, whales
in different ocean basins sing unrelated songs. Like
birds, their melodies can change over time, but usually
this is a slow, gradual process. So Dr Michael Noad of
the University of Sydney, New South Wales, and
colleagues, were surprised to find that the whales they were
studying had suddenly picked up a new tune. Dr Noad told
the BBC: "All of a sudden, a few dozen whales have
come across from the west coast population and mixed
in with the east coast population. "In 1996, when we
were recording the whales we picked up a small number
of whales<br>that were singing this completely
different song. Literally, within a period of a few months,
the east coast singers have all changed their song
and adopted the west coast song." The marine
biologists found that at first only two of 82 east coast
whales were singing the new tune. But over a period of
less than two years, all the males had switched songs.
The finding is intriguing because it suggests that
whales may be attracted to the<br>cultural novelty of a
song and then adopt it themselves. Reporting their
findings in the scientific journal Nature, the team said:
"Such a<br>revolutionary change is unprecedented in
animal cultural vocal traditions and suggests that
novelty may stimulate change in humpback whale songs."

Adult humpbacks attain a length of 45 feet and a
weight of over 50 tons. Realistically, they are the
largest animals most snorkelers could ever witness first
hand. In spite of their immense size, humpbacks are
exquisitely graceful in the water. They are attentive,
intelligent, and have no wish to accidentally (or
deliberately!) bump into snorkelers or boats. I can't find any
reports of any snorkeler being subjected to aggressive
behavior by these whales. In fact, quite the <br>opposite
is true -- snorkelers are often regarded with
inquisitive curiosity, especially by the baby whales which
can be 15 feet in length.<br><br>Whales should not be
approched deliberately unless <br>for scientific research.
Yet popping in the water and snorkeling whilst
they're known to be in the vicinity could reward you with
one of the most unforgettable encounters with
wildlife that you'll ever experience.

The blue whale is not only the largest of the
cetaceans, but is also the largest living animal. Most
adults are 23 to 27 m long and weigh 100-120 tons,
although females are slightly larger than males of the
same age, and animals in the Southern Hemisphere are
larger than those in the Northern<br>hemisphere.
<br><br>The body of a blue whale is slender and streamlined
in shape, but is very broad and long. The head and
rostrum of the blue whale is broad and flat and, viewed
from above, shaped like a gothic arch, slightly
flattened at the tip. A single ridge extends from the
raised area just ahead of the blowholes towards the tip
of the rostrum. The paired blowholes are protected
by<br>prominent fleshy crests, sometimes called splash guards.
The dorsal fin is small, only about 0.4 m high and
variable in shape, ranging from pointed and triangular to
falcate and rounded at the tip. It is placed far back on
the animal (3/4 of the body length) so that it is
rarely seen until just<br>before a whale submerges
following a blow. The flukes are broad (up to 1/5 body
length) with a straight or slightly concave trailing edge
and a prominent median notch. The flukes are
sometimes lifted slightly as the whale dives, following the
last of a series of blows. The flippers are long (up
to 15% of body length) and pointed, with a convex
leading edge. <br><br>Blue whales live to ages in excess
of 25 years. Estimates of maximum age range from 30
to 80-90 years. Despite their size, there are
documented cases of blue whales being attacked by pods of
killer whales. <br><br>Blue whales occur in all oceans,
primarily along the edge of continental shelves and along
ice fronts, but also in deep ocean and shallow
inshore<br>regions. Blue whales may be seen from the equator to the
pack ice edges in both hemispheres, but are generally
closer to the poles in both hemispheres<br>in the
summer. There are three major populations each composed
of several stocks: North Pacific, North Atlantic and
Southern Hemisphere. <br><br>Recent estimates suggest that
there are only a few thousand blue whales (at least
half of them pygmy blue whales) in the Southern
Hemisphere. In the<br>Northern Hemisphere, more than 200
individual blue whales have been photo-identified in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence since 1979 and close to 600
off<br>California since 1986. In the north-east Atlantic, surveys
off Iceland and in adjacent waters provided estimates
of approximately 400 animals. The total population
in the north-eastern Pacific may be approaching
approximately 4,000.

Blue whales prey almost exclusively on a few
species of krill (euphausiids) mostly found at depths of
less than 100 m. In the Southern Hemisphere, blue
whales feed on Euphausia superba. In the Northern
Hemisphere, they feed on other euphausid species, and also
take Calanus copepods and, less frequently, amphipods,
squid, and occasionally small fish, although it may be
that the fish are ingested
accidentally.<br><br>Movements of blue whales may be correlated with abundance
of their euphausiid prey. Analysis of stomach
contents suggests a feeding peak during the evening and
early morning, apparently coinciding with the vertical
diurnal migration of prey. <br><br>Off Sri Lanka, feeding
blue whales were observed to dive deeply, to depths of
up to 260 m. Adult whales were often seen diving in
pairs, which remained close together and dived
simultaneously.<br><br>Blowing and diving patterns of the blue whale vary with
the speed of movement and the activity of the whale.
If the animal is travelling slowly, the<br>blowholes
and part of the head may still be visible when the
dorsal fin breaks the water surface, and the animal may
settle quietly into the water without exposing the last
portion of the tail stock or flukes. If the animal is
moving quickly or about to begin a long dive, the
blowholes disappear and the dorsal fin emerges briefly just
before the animal lifts its tail stock and flukes
slightly above the surface. <br>Blue whales have
occasionally been observed breaching. <br><br>Both male and
female blue whales are thought to become sexually mature
at about 5 - 10 years of age. Physical maturity is
reached at about 24-25 m in males and 26 - 27 m in
females and at an age of 25 - 30 years. The gestation
period is almost 11 months and lactation occurs for 6-7
months before the calves are fully weaned. By the time
they are weaned at 7 months old, calves have doubled
their length and increased their weight to 9 times
their birth weight. The calving interval is usually 2
or 3 years. <br><br>Blue whales are usually
encountered alone or in pairs. Occasionally larger groups of
blue whales may gather in areas of high food
concentration. Mixed schools of blue and fin whales have been
reported.<br><br>Pre-exploitation population estimates of blue whales are in the
region of 300,000. Blue whales were hunted relentlessly
from the late 19th through the mid 20th centuries. As
the largest whales they were the most sought after of
all the rorquals; the number killed peaked in the
early 1930-31 season, when 30,000 blue whales were
killed world-wide. Despite protection by
the<br>International Whaling Commission in 1965, population numbers
remain well below pre-exploitation levels. There are now
concerns about the effects of other human activities in
the oceans, such as increasing levels of
acoustic<br>disturbance and the possible impact that this may have on the
communication and physiology of whales, particularly those
which communicate using low frequency vocalisations.

The Grey Whale is one of the most active of all
large whales. It migrates for a long 12,000
mile<br>journey that starts in the Beaufort, Bering and Chukchi
Seas and migrates to Baja California or Korea to
breed. <br><br>The Grey Whale feeds mostly off the
bottom. They eat tube worms and sessile polychaetes while
in feeding zones of the north and while migrating
will eat small fish and shimp-like mysids. When it
reaches the Arctic it eats gammarid amphipods.
<br><br>Grey Whales are baleen (non-toothed)whales.<br>They
have about 130-185 baleen plates which they use for
filtering out the plankton and other foodstuffs. Gray
whales feed by sucking on water, mud or kelp into their
large throats. As the water is pressured out, prey is
trapped in bristles on the baleen plates. <br><br>The
whale's body is covered with white, yellow, or orange
parasites (whale lice). <br><br>The female can grow to up
to be 17m long and 30-35 tons and the male can grow
to be 15m and weigh 16 tons. A newborn calf is 5m
long and is gray.<br>As the calf grows older, the gray
color becomes spotted. A calf needs its mother for
safety and food. The young will nurse for up to 9
months. The calf will not become an adult until it is 8
to 12 years old.<br><br>Gray whales are social. They
use echo-location to communicate with each other and
to find food. Their loud grunts, groans, and
bubble-burst sounds can be heard for 2 kilometres.

Nearly 90% of cetacean species are toothed
whales.<br>Most toothed whales are small dolphins and porpoises,
however there are a few large toothed whales such as the
killer whale and the mighty sperm whale, which grows to
18 metres in length. Toothed whales are believed to
be some of the most intelligent animals on earth.
Dolphins as well as beluga and killer whales have
demonstrated their intelligence while in captivity, while
sperm whales possess the largest brain of any creature
alive. The presence of teeth and one external blowhole
distinguishes toothed whales from baleen whales. Also, most
toothed whales use echolocation to locate food and "see"
their environment. Throughout history, humans hunted
toothed whales for oil and food. Sperm whales were prized
by commercial whalers for the large amount of oil
that could be produced from their blubber and
spermaceti organ and for ambergris (a waxy substance that
forms around squid beaks in the whales' intestines),
which was used to make perfume. Sperm whales are still
classified as endangered because of the great numbers that
were killed by commercial whaling between the 17th to
early 20th centuries.

We're launching from Makena Maui in Sea kayaks<br>at 2am by Full Moon Light. 
I'll report here<br>tomorrow how our middle of the night excusion <br>goes.  The
whales are here on Maui!!

.....but there were no whales to be seen nor
heard. I did have quite the thrilling experience though
when I jumped in to snorkel in the cove at Molokini at
6 am. My first fish was a large unicorn fish; my
second fish was a small white-tipped reef shark. That
ended my snorkeling pretty quickly as I didn't have to
turn my head to see the shark. Who knows what was
behind me!!

Framed by pictures of colorful fish, leathery
sea<br>turtles and endangered Hawaiian monk seals, President
Clinton created the largest U.S. nature preserve - 84
million acres underwater around the northwestern Hawaiian
Islands - to help save the coral reefs and wildlife that
inhabit the area. The Pacific Ocean reserve, at 99,500
square nautical miles as large as Florida and Georgia
combined, contains nearly 70 percent of the<br>United
States' coral reefs, as well as pristine remote islands,
atolls and submerged lagoons - ``a special place where
the sea is a living rainbow,''<br>Clinton
said.<br>Despite immediate criticism of the reserve from some in
the Hawaiian fishing industry, Clinton said coral
reefs support thousands of species of<br>fish and sea
life, generate millions in fishing and tourism, protect
coastal communities from pounding waves and provide new
hope for medical<br>breakthroughs.<br>``However, the
world's reefs are in peril,'' the president told the
National Geographic Society as a projection screen behind
him showed constantly changing scenes of ocean
wildlife. ``Pollution,<br>damage from dynamite fishing,
coral poachers, unwise coastal development and global
warming have already have killed over 25 percent of the
world's reefs. In some areas, such as the Central Indian
Ocean, 90 percent of the coral reefs have died, bleached
as white as dead bone.'' <br>The new Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Reserve encompasses the
Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge set up by
President Theodore Roosevelt.<br>``He knew then that our
natural wonders on land and sea form an integral part of
who we are as a people, and that every generation of
Americans must do its part to sustain and strengthen this
legacy,'' Clinton said. ``Today we do just that,
incorporating the refuge he created into a new, vast and
wonderful Yellowstone of the sea.''<br>Tammy Leilani Harp,
a seventh generation Hawaiian from a family that
has long fished in those waters, came to Washington
for the announcement and praised Clinton's actions,
saying her family and other Hawaiians took only what
they needed from the seas and left the rest for
another day.<br>``We must stop destroying what we have or
there will be nothing left to pass on when we are dead
and gone,'' she said.<br>To help protect the reefs,
the reserve will ban oil and gas exploration, the
dumping of any material and any alternations of the
seabed or the<br>coral and most sea life. Clinton's
executive order also caps the already limited fishing at
recent or current levels.<br><br>excerpt from<br>Monday
December 4 5:04 PM ET<br>By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated
Press Writer

was so named because it was considered to be the
'right' whale to catch. Rich in oil and baleen<br>(the
large food filter plates which hang from the roof of
its mouth) and a whale which floated in the water
when killed, this slow-moving leviathan became one of
the most ruthlessly hunted of all species of whales.
Today, the northern right whale is virtually extinct. In
the southern hemisphere populations show a slow
increase since international protection in 1935. There are
estimated to be about 3 000 - 4 000 southern right whales
at present, with South Africa receiving the major
percentage visiting its coasts annually. Present populations
of southern right whales are a fraction of estimated
initial stocks. The southern right whale has a
circumpolar distribution and inhabits sub antarctic water
between about 30° and 55° south. The whales migrate south
during the summer months when supplies of krill are more
prolific, and north during winter and spring to mate, calve
and rear their young. They appear around the South
African coastline from May to December. They can be seen
interacting in the sheltered bays and coves close inshore and
near river mouths. The southern right whale can be
distinguished from other whales by its V-shaped 'blow' and the
callosities which appear on<br>and around its head. Although
many people mistake these callosities for barnacles
and although barnacles and other sea life live on
these patches on the whale's head, the callosities are
actual outgrowths of tough skin which form different
patterns on each individual and which are a useful form of
identification. To hear a whale 'blow' is like hearing the breath
of life. The blow is a cloud of vapour produced
largely by condensation when warm breath comes into
contact with cooler air. It also contains oily mucus from
the respiratory tract of the whale. Whales are large
brained and sensitive creatures. Strong bonds<br>exist
between females and their calves. In normal circumstances
they are non-aggressive and gentle towards man. As
yet, knowledge about whales and the role they play in
the marine ecosystems is fragmented and in-complete.

Toothed whales include dolphins, porpoises,
belugas, narwhals, sperm whales, river dolphins, and
beaked whales. Baleen whales are represented by 11
species, including the right whale, gray whale, blue
whale, and humpback whale.<br>Scientist recognize more
than 70 species of whales. Collectively known as
cetaceans, whales are further classified into two scientific
groups<br>called toothed whales (odontocetes) and baleen whales
(mysticetes).<br>These two groups of whales differ from each other in
several ways.<br>Toothed whales are named for their
simple, peglike teeth, which vary considerably in number
and size among the species. The teeth of dolphins are
conical and interlocking, while those of porpoises are
spade-shaped. River dolphins have numerous teeth; most beaked
whales have only one or two visible pairs. Teeth are
adapted for grasping and tearing, rather than chewing.
<br>Baleen whales have no teeth. They have stiff, fringed
plates of baleen that hang down from the upper jaw.
Baleen is composed of keratin, a protein compound that
also makes up human hair and fingernails. Baleen
whales are filter feeders.<br>They take in huge
mouthfuls of water containing small fishes or
invertebrates. The baleen traps the prey, and water is forced
back out of the mouth.<br>Toothed whales and baleen
whales can be distinguished in other ways, as well.
Toothed whales have a single blowhole, while baleen
whales have two. In general, baleen whales are much
larger than toothed whales, ranging in length from about
6.4 to 27 m. Most toothed whales are less than 6.1 m
long.

Dolphins and porpoises both belong to the
Suborder Odontoceti. Members of this order possess teeth,
a<br>single blowhole, and often exhibit sexual dimorphism.
Odontocetes also possess bilaterally asymmetrical skulls that
often support a well developed melon, or bulbous
forehead. Most odontocetes are more social than other
groups of cetaceans and use echolocation for navigation.
These similarities often lead to a misconception about
the two odontocetes. Although the terms "dolphin" and
"porpoise" are often used interchangeably, they describe two
different groups of cetaceans. Dolphins belong to the
Family Delphinidae, while porpoises belong to the Family
Phocoenidae. Many external characteristics exists that are
useful in distinguishing between these two families. For
example, the extended beak present in most delphinids is
absent in most phocoenids . Similarly, most phocoenids
lack a melon, while the bulbous forehead is often
observed in delphinids. In addition, the dorsal fin of
delphinids is often hooked or curved, while the dorsal fin
in most phocoenids is triangular in shape. Some
members of both families lack dorsal fins altogether.
Also, merely the first two cervical are fused in
delphinids, while the first six cervical are fused in
phocoenids. This increased number of fused cervical limits
the range of mobility in the porpoise neck. Equally,
the teeth of dolphins and porpoises are distinct from
one another. Delphinids possess homodont conical
teeth in both jaws, while phocoenids posses spatulate,
or spade-shaped, teeth in both jaws. In contrast,
members of the Family Phocoenidae are rarely observed in
groups of more than one or two individuals. Likewise,
delphinids can often be seen performing acrobatics, such as
breaching, or leaping out of the water and returning with a
splash, while such acts are rarely ever observed by
phocoenids. Similarly, many members of Family Delphinidae can
be observed bow-riding, or riding on the pressure
wave of a large ship or whale, on passing vessels.
Unlike delphinids, members of the Family Phocoenidae are
rarely seen bow-riding. In fact, many species within
this family appear to be frightened of ships and large
cetaceans.

How do whales not hurt themselves when breaching,
then landing on their backs?<br><br>Mostly their fall
is cushioned by the water. The <br>water might be
able to "scratch an itch" when it hits the skin, but
it probably would not hurt (much). When whales jump
out of the water they can only barely clear their
whole body out of the water; then they fall back,
falling from only several feet. They make a huge splash,
and might itch a scratch, and even make a loud noise
underwater that other whales can hear far away. If they
landed on a rock or on another whale or ice or flotsam
then I think that might be a matter for more whale
pain!

check this link list:<br><a href=http://www.physics.helsinki.fi/whale/rock.html
target=new>http://www.physics.helsinki.fi/whale/rock.html</a>

Scientists that study evolution have long known
that the ancestors of modern whales lived on land and
were four-footed air-breathing animals with fur and
life-birth. There is, however, disagreement among scientists
what these ancestors looked like. Whatever the real
ancestor looked like, whale origins took very little time.
In about 8 million years whales evolved
from<br>quadrupedal terrestrial mammals to obligate marine swimmers.
This transition did not only affect the locomotor
system, but also the hearing organ and the means in which
these animals fed. The archaic whales that lived in the
Eocene (55-34 million<br>years ago) are commonly
referred to as archaeocetes. There are six families of
archaeocetes: Pakicetidae, Ambulocetidae,<br>Remingtonocetidae,
Protocetidae, Dorudontidae, and Basilosauridae.<br><br>Some
scientists think that the land relatives of whales are a
group of mammals called mesonychians. Mesonychians are
long extinct, they lived from the Paleocene through
Oligocene in North America, Asia, and Europe. They varied
in size from a<br>weasel to a grizzly bear and had
teeth that suggest that they ate meat or carrion.
<br><br>Other scientists think that whales are closely related
to the modern hippopotamus and that they had an
ancestor in common. Hippo ancestors can be traced back to
a nimble even-toed ungulate that lived in the
Eocene of Europe and was only as<br>large as a cat.

Modern whales are fully aquatic mammals, i.e.
they cannot live outside of water. Like other mammals
they breathe air, give birth to live young that they
nurse, and have hair in early stages of their
development. Scientists usually use the word "whale" as a
synonym for the order Cetacea, which includes dolphins
and porpoises as well as whales. Modern cetaceans can
be divided into two groups: mysticetes, or baleen
whales, and odontocetes, or toothed whales (the group
that includes sperm<br>whales, dolphins, and
porpoises). Most scientists that study fossils think that all
whales are derived from terrestrial ancestors called
mesonychians, which are related to ungulates (e.g. horses,
cows, deer, elephants), but probably lived like
carnivores or carrion feeders. Cetaceans arose in the
Eocene, approximately 50 million years ago and became
fully aquatic in a few<br>million years. Whale origins
are well known from fossils. They document the
transition from land to water and tell one of the most
exciting stories in evolution.<br><br>Characters of modern
and fossil whales:<br>heavy ear ossicles (malleus,
incus, stapes) <br>bone forming the wall of ear
(tympanic) with thick internal lip (involucrum) and wavy
crest (sigmoid process) externally <br>Simplified cheek
teeth <br><br>Characters of modern whales (may or may
not be present in fossils)<br>Tail fluke <br>No
hindlimbs <br>Forelimb modified to a flipper
<br>Streamlined body design <br>No hair as adults

<a href=http://members.nbci.com/captbike/whales/index.html
target=new>http://members.nbci.com/captbike/whales/index.html</a>

Female whales usually become pregnant between
spring and fall. The gestation (pregnancy) period
normally ranges from nine to twelve months, although some
toothed whale species, including the Sperm Whale, carry
their young up to sixteen months. Most whales give
birth to one calf, though twins are not unknown.
Calves, of course, vary in size and weight. Blue Whale
offspring can reach up to 23 ft. in length and weigh as
much as 8 tons, making them the largest newborns in
the world. Calves are born with their eyes open,
alert senses and enough swimming skills to follow their
mothers immediately. A female whale has two<br>nipples
and produces large amounts of milk after giving
birth. The largest baleen whales, Blues, can produce as
much as 160 gallons of milk a day,<br>and calves may
double their weight in the first week. Lactation or
nursing periods are variable, usually lasting about a
year.

A Blue Whale's tongue is about the size and
weight of a full grown AFRICAN ELEPHANT, and its heart
is compared to the size of a volkswagon
beetle.<br><br>The Orca (Killer Whale) is considered a dolphin
despite its much greater length of 30 feet.<br><br>Female
and young Killer whales have short curved dorsal
fins. In comparison, the male's fin is much taller and
straight.<br><br>The sperm whale has a single nostril on one side of
its head. When it surfaces to breath, the spray is
"blown" at an angle...not straight up as depicted by
other large whales.<br><br>The Beluga whale, white in
color, has NO dorsal fin...and its neck is very flexible
enabling it to turn its head independently of its
body.<br><br>The humpback whale's flipper can grow as long as 17
feet...longer than the flippers of any other whale. Its
scientific name is Megaptera meaning "long winged".

Animals protected by the Marine Mammal Protection
Act and some by the Endangered Species Act may be
further troubled by our TOO close watching of them. The
National Marine Fisheries Service, which is responsible
for managing and protecting whales, dolphins,
porpoise, seals and sea lions, has regulations prohibiting
feeding marine mammals in the wild and others that
specify how close people<br>can get to the animals. We've
learned that these activities may significantly change
the marine mammals behavior by disrupting their
normal feeding and reproductive patterns.<br><br>Basic
Rules: Keep your distance(50-100 yards)... respect their
beauty, enjoy watching them, but don't feed them, harm
them, or swim with them. If you feel the need to know
these animals from closer distances it's best you ally
yourself (you can volunteer) with many of the research
teams around the world who have the best knowledge of
our impact on these beautiful marine mammals.

this is a list of other Yahoo! clubs I have
visited that relate to Cetaceans:<br><br>A Dolphins
Dreamworld<br> Whales, Seahorses, Coral & Exotic Sea
Creatures<br><a href=http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/adolphinsdreamworld
target=new>http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/adolphinsdreamworld</a><br><br>Alpha
pod<br> For anyone who wants to be a
dolphin<br><a href=http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/alphapod
target=new>http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/alphapod</a><br><br>Dolphin harbor<br>
Come and talk about dolphins and see
cool
pictures<br><a href=http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/dolphinharbor
target=new>http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/dolphinharbor</a><br><br>Dolphin
Island<br> Dolphins + Other Ocean
Life<br><a href=http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/dolphinisland
target=new>http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/dolphinisland</a><br><br>Save The Whales
And Dolphins<br> Fighting for the
rights of whales and
dolphins!!!!<br><a href=http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/savethewhalesanddolphins
target=new>http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/savethewhalesanddolphins</a><br><br>Summ\
er's Dolphin Club<br> A place where dolphin-lovers can
mingle<br><a href=http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/summersdolphinclub
target=new>http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/summersdolphinclub</a><br><br>Wonderful
Whales<br> A place to talk about marine
mammals<br><a href=http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/wonderfulwhales
target=new>http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/wonderfulwhales</a>

One of the world's last unspoiled, secluded<br>
paradises, closed to the public for more than<br> 50 years,
is now open to visitors. It's Midway<br> Islands
(plural), known primarily as World War<br> II's decisive
"Battle of Midway." Midway<br> served as a U.S. Naval
Base from before the<br> war until 1996, when Midway
Phoenix Corporation and the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service entered into a cooperative agreement
under which<br> this pristine National Wildlife Refuge
is now available as a travel destination.
<br><br><a href=http://www.midwayisland.com/
target=new>http://www.midwayisland.com/</a>

Whale vertabra at Half Moon Bay<br><br><a
href=http://www.theslowlane.com/87tripa/whale.html
target=new>http://www.theslowlane.com/87tripa/whale.html</a>

A Focus on the GRAY WHALE:<br>Eschrichtius robustus<br><br><br><a
href=http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/whalesgray.html
target=new>http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/whalesgray.html</a>

WhaleNet's Satellite Tagging Observation Program - STOP<br><br><br><a
href=http://whale.wheelock.edu/whalenet-stuff/stop.html
target=new>http://whale.wheelock.edu/whalenet-stuff/stop.html</a>

So many factors count in our favour making South
Africa ideal for whale-watching.<br><br>We offer
visitors some of the best land-based whale watching in the
world. For instance, we have the highest diversity of
whales along our coast - which means that in any one
spot we have the most number of species one can
see.<br><br>Also countries such as Canada, Argentina, Australia,
New Zealand and, increasingly, Europe and Japan, have
become popular destinations for whale
watchers.<br><br>But whale watching in South Africa is not simply
viewed in terms of the proverbial golden goose. In fact,
when South Africa hosted the annual conference of the
International Whaling Commission for the first time in 1998
members were "blown away" by the country's holistic
approach to whale watching.<br><br>We look at sustaining
research and education in addition to developing marine
and coastal management. We also support the
enforcement of laws aimed at preventing abuse of our natural
resources.<br><br>There are more than 37 types of whale and dolphin that
can be watched through-out the year. June to November
is Southern Right whale season. During this time
they can be spotted anywhere along the east and west
coast although they concentrate in the southern cape
between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.<br><br>Other whales
visit the coast at differ times of the year while yet
others, like Bryde's and minke whales, can be seen all
year round.<br><br>During the December holidays,
tourists can expect to see humpback whales somewhere along
the coast because between November and January these
whales leave their breeding waters off the coast of
Mozambique to migrate south along the South African coast.

Join us on a wonderful journey into the world of Cetaceans, those mysterious
animals that spend their entire lives in water.<br><br><br><a
href=http://whales.magna.com.au/home.html
target=new>http://whales.magna.com.au/home.html</a>

on the Web......<br><br>..<br><br><a
href=http://www.nfld.com/nfld/other/whales/whales.html
target=new>http://www.nfld.com/nfld/other/whales/whales.html</a>

i haven't seen a whale except in photos or on tv ...hope one day i'll be out
there in the middle of the ocean and watch them play...<br>ancutza

so graceful, and seeming to possess an awareness
and intelligence beyond expectations.....<br><br>I
hope you do see one in the natural surroundings one
day. If you live near the ocean anywhere, it's almost
a guarantee you'll spot one soon. Until then it's
going to be a virtual whale-watch I
guess.....<br><br>virtual
tour.....<br><a href=http://cabottrail.com/whales/tour/1.htm
target=new>http://cabottrail.com/whales/tour/1.htm</a>