As humpback whales nursed their calves in waters off of Maui in February, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP) researchers were there to capture stunning and rare video and data.
As humpback whales nursed their calves in waters off of Maui in February, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP) researchers were there to capture stunning and rare video and data. It was part of an exciting new project that aims to quantify the nursing behavior of humpback whale calves on the Maui breeding grounds.
The project is a collaboration between the UH Mānoa Marine Mammal Research Program, the Goldbogen Lab at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station and the Friedlander Lab at University of California, Santa Cruz.
“We can actually see what these animals are seeing and encountering and experiencing themselves,” MMRP Director Lars Bejder said. “Itʻs quite unique and rare footage that we’re obtaining, which is allowing us to quantify these nursing and suckling bouts that are so important.”
Over 10 days, Bejder and PhD candidates Martin van Aswegen and Will Gough attached non-invasive suction-cup tags equipped with cameras, acoustic recorders, pressure sensors and accelerometers onto seven humpback whale calves. Bejder said the tag deployments would not have been possible without the generous support of Marc Lammers from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale Sanctuary, Stephanie Stack and Jens Currie from the Pacific Whale Foundation and the Oceanwide Science Institute.
Read more at University Of Hawaii At Manoa
Image: UH researchers tag a humpback whale calf off of Maui. CREDIT: NOAA, permit #21476
