Spotting the blues

Sachitra MAHENDRA

Watching blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus, of course, may not give the edgy observer a whale of a time. You should put up with the heated sun, and the still waters of the ocean. If you ride on a boat, or a small vessel, you should stay in one place and should be patient enough to stay long to spot a movement of this largest mammal.

Blue whale watching industry is an internationally acclaimed adventure. Research has been done on blue whales in the northern Indian Ocean, closer to which Sri Lanka is located especially in areas like Devondra, Galle and Kirinda.

Ceylon Fisheries and Harbours Corporation (CFHC) has taken a decision to gear this as a tourist attraction project, with all facilities and equipment coming under the purview of ministry of fisheries and aquatic resources.

CFHC team has been researching to prove the existence of blue whales on the sea close to the country. Quite luckily they have spotted the blue whales all 26 times they have been to sea.

According to CFHC Deputy General Manager Ayesh Ranawaka, blue whale watching has brought good fortune for many traders.

“We do not encourage traders taking passengers out into deep sea to watch blue whales. Going deep into sea itself is a risky exercise. We are going to introduce amendments to the fisheries act to rule that no such trading is allowed without the license of CFHC. This is to ensure passenger safety.”

The passengers should wear life jackets and they are given Avomin, an anti-nauseam tablet, along with marine guides on a fully equipped vessel or boat.

Far deep into the ocean blue whale watching is not a zoo-experience. Blue whales do not show up at your beck and call. You have to practice patience with your cameras on for a sudden appearance of the creature. They make fast movements, even a camera sometimes isn’t able to capture the move.

“If one of the passengers shows a sign of sickness, we will be cruising back. No matter what, passenger safety is more important.” O Roopasinghe, a marine guide said.

As Roopasinghe says, any passenger with a feeling of nausea is instructed to look at a distance avoiding closer views.

“Sometimes, passengers get scared, when we are in the middle of the sea. As the vessel plunges most of the time, we do not recommend too much of water. Other beverages are alright.” Roopasinghe said.

The vessel never gets closer to where blue whales are, as the engine sound scares off the sea mammal. The engine is on neutral on such occasions.

The blue whale’s long thin body appears extended when they make movements. When it breathes, this largest animal, believed to have ever lived on earth, lifts the shoulder and blowhole. Its flat and U-shaped head and the amazing ridge runs from the blowhole to the top of the upper lip.

Whales have many kinds of species, though blue whales are the largest. However hard it was to hunt the blues, they were largely victims of whalers before it was banned by International Whaling Commission. The blues are today considered an endangered species.

According to American Cetacean Society Fact Sheet, a blue whale will be crushed by its own weight without the support of large heavy bones. Because of the support from the water, this sea animal does not need the support of heavy bones.

Availability of excess food in the depth of sea makes the blues reach an enormous size. They make sounds that can be felt too let alone hearing. The sounds are said to be travelling a long distance through water, allowing inter-communication among blues.

The blues are one of the rorquals, any of several baleen whales of the family having longitudinal grooves on the throat and a small, pointed dorsal fin. The baleen whales are also called whalebone whales or great whales.

Blue Whales most commonly live alone or with one other individual. It is not known whether those that travel in pairs stay together over long periods or form more loose relationships.

In locations where there is a high concentration of food, as many as 50 Blue Whales have been seen scattered over a small area. However, they do not form the large close-knit groups seen in other baleen species.

The longest blue whale ever recorded was a 108-foot adult female caught during whaling efforts in Antarctica! In modern times, blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere reach lengths of 90-100 feet, but their Northern Hemisphere counterparts are smaller, on average 75 to 80 feet (23 to 24.5 m).

Blue whales can weigh over 100 tons (99,800 kg). Females are larger than males of the same age, the largest perhaps weighing as much as 150 tons (136,000 kg).

Blue whales are said to live in all oceans in the world. As research maintains, the blues are sexually strong when they reach 6-10 years. They travel to humid areas during winter months to mate.

These fast and strong swimmers are normally found in pairs, though sometimes seen in solitude.

The colour of the blues is normally blue-gray. The underside of its flipper and ventral of the fluke are white and dark respectively. They consume diatoms, a microorganism in cold waters, which makes its underside of the body yellowish green, earning it the nickname, ‘sulphur bottom’

Pictures by Chaminda Hittetiya