Blue Whale

  • Blue Whale Watch 2 – 25/10/25

    Blue Whale Watch 2 – 25/10/25

    Our morning started with a wonderful surprise as an enormous Blue Whale surfaced! It was fantastic to see this beautiful Blue cruising through the sighting grounds and on a mission to navigate through the sighting grounds and continue on the long swim south towards the Bonney Upwelling. Nearby we also observed two separate pods of…

  • Amazing Whale Watching Experience – 3/9/25

    I went on a school trip to Tadoussac, a hub in Quebec for whale watching in the Saint Lawrence river. After visiting the whale interpretation center, we went on an excursion to go see whales, accompanied by naturalists. After a ride of about forty five minutes, we saw a blue whale blow in the distance.…

  • Long Awaited Blue Whale Encounter

    Long Awaited Blue Whale Encounter

    When ​I ​had ​a ​sabbatical, ​which ​I’m ​very ​fortunate ​to ​have ​every ​now ​and ​again, ​certainly ​makes ​it ​easier ​to ​do ​research ​if ​you’re ​not ​teaching ​and ​doing ​admin ​and ​everything. ​I ​went ​down ​to ​Chile ​where ​one ​of ​the ​best ​places ​in ​the ​world ​to ​see ​blue ​whales ​And ​Barbara ​Galletti ​and ​Elsa ​Cabrera​ ​work ​down ​there. ​And ​they ​have ​this ​beautiful ​spot ​on ​the, ​on ​the ​cliff ​with ​a ​more ​than ​180-degree ​view ​where ​blue ​wells ​do ​sometimes ​come ​close ​to ​shore.  And ​I ​went ​down ​there ​thinking, ​well, ​I’m ​finally ​going ​to ​maybe ​have ​a ​chance ​to ​see ​blue ​whales ​because ​I ​do ​all ​this ​work ​on ​computers ​and ​analyzing ​stuff ​and ​modeling ​things ​and ​data ​analysis ​and ​meta-analysis ​​that ​stuff.  ​And ​but ​you ​have ​to ​understand ​this ​is ​like ​in ​the ​40’s ​latitude ​and ​the, ​the ​waves ​are ​kind ​of ​big ​offshore ​of, ​Chiloe ​Island. ​And ​Barbara ​took ​me ​out ​on ​the ​boat ​and ​this ​boat ​is ​open, ​open ​boat, ​tiny ​little ​boat ​with ​an ​outdoor, ​ ​motor ​and ​so ​on, ​off ​we ​go. ​And ​we ​went ​for ​hours ​and ​hours ​and ​hours ​battering ​through ​these ​huge ​swells ​and, ​​and ​so ​on. ​And ​​it ​was ​very ​uncomfortable. ​We ​didn’t ​see ​a ​single ​blue ​whale.  ​And ​I ​banked ​on, ​had ​been ​there ​for ​about ​a ​week ​and ​I ​was ​like, ​I’ll ​have ​all ​these ​fun ​experiences. ​And ​then ​the ​next ​few ​days ​there ​were ​huge ​swells ​and ​even ​she ​didn’t ​want ​to ​go ​out.  And ​then ​on ​about ​day ​four, ​the ​swells ​looked ​just ​as ​big ​and ​just ​as ​dangerous.  ​And ​you ​know, ​I’d ​been ​on ​the ​boat, ​and ​I’d ​said, ​why ​aren’t ​you ​wearing ​a ​life ​jacket?  ​If you capsize, ​you ​fall ​in ​the ​water, it’s ​freezing ​water. ​She ​said, ​well, ​there’s ​really ​no ​point ​because ​there’s ​no ​one ​out ​here ​to ​rescue ​us. So, ​the ​only ​reason ​to ​wear ​a ​life ​jacket ​would ​be ​so ​someone ​can find you.  Anyway, ​day ​seven ​dawned, ​the ​last ​day ​I ​was ​going ​to ​be ​there ​and ​it ​was ​absolutely ​flat, ​calm, ​and, ​and ​she ​was ​like, ​all ​right, ​let’s ​go. ​We’ll, ​we’ll, ​we’ll ​go ​out, ​you ​know, ​we’ll ​maybe ​see ​some ​blue ​whales. ​And ​off ​we ​went. ​Same ​idea.  ​And ​we ​went ​far ​away ​from ​shore, ​and ​we ​zigzagged ​backwards ​and ​forwards ​and ​there ​was ​just ​nothing. ​And ​we ​saw ​albatrosses ​and ​we ​saw ​all ​kinds ​of ​other ​things ​that. ​No, ​no ​blue ​whales ​at ​all. And ​you ​know, ​Elsa ​said, ​all ​right, ​it’s ​time, ​it’s ​time ​to ​go ​back. ​ We ​turned ​around, ​headed ​back ​to ​shore ​and ​boom, ​they ​had ​popped ​up ​a ​whole ​suite ​of ​Blue ​Whale ​there ​were ​blue ​whale ​spots ​in ​the ​distance. ​There ​were ​blue ​whales ​right ​next ​to ​us. ​Great ​for ​photo ​ID. ​I’ve ​never ​been ​so ​happy ​in ​my ​life. It ​was ​everything ​I ​dreamed ​of ​and ​more ​and ​more. -Trevor This post was adapted from a voice recording in episode 83 of the Whale Tales Podcast, listen here Photos by E. Cabrera, Centro…

  • Incredible Blue Whale Encounter – 1975

    When I was a marine biologist in 1975, on a research boat c 55′ long surveying marine mammals off Southen California, we saw a Blue Whale. It was a glassy day on the Pacific; the whale passed under us (engine was off) & we could see its head extending beyond the bow & its tail…

  • A Special Encounter with a Blue Whale – 19/7/24

    A Special Encounter with a Blue Whale – 19/7/24

    A HUGE thank you to Cape Ann Whale Watch for going the extra mile(s) to give us an unforgettable look at the largest animal to have ever roamed the planet! If you’ve been following local whale news you’ve probably heard that there’s been a very rare (to our area) Blue Whale seen a few times…