Whale blow, Witless Bay, Newfoundland, June 25, 2016

Whale watching is a must do in Atlantic Canada. Sea waters here are among the most productive portions of the earth's ocean with extreme depth and mixed with cold fresh water from St Lawrence River; Consequently one of the largest whale gatherings on this planet takes place here every year.

Whales are the largest marine mammals. Adult whales range in size from 2-3 meters and 300 lbs of a dwarf sperm whale to as big as 34 meters and 190 tons of a blue whale, the largest earth creature that has ever lived. Average life expectancy of whales varies by size, from 29 years of Killer whales to 80-90 years of Blue whales.They are highly intelligent mammals and developed complex communication patterns as well as variety of social, entertainment and play behaviors. Whales are very attractive in display and can be trained to perform some difficult circus shows. For this reason small whales are popular targets to capture for aquariums and zoos.

Bubble ring by Beluga, a complex play behavior, credit to: www.trekearth.com

Whales evolved from land-living mammals, and as such they have to breath air into lungs regularly. Whales cannot survive on the ground, but could hold their breath in deep water for long periods. Sperm whale, for example, makes some longest dives achieved by marine mammals which could last up to a astonishing 90 minutes. Same as human nose, whales have nostrils on top their head called blowhole, leading all the way to their lungs; while whale cannot breath like us through mouth but only blowholes. So whale have to reach the water surface to breath air, where they open the blowholes (blowholes were covered when whale submerged) and exhale air explosively, forming a small fountain of misty air called whale blow, visible from far away. Keep in mind whales don't spray water but only air, contrary from what you may seen in the movies. The white splash from their blowhole is not water but vapor, caused by water resting on top of the blowhole when whale surfaced. This followed by inhalation of fresh air, and then a new drive begins. The whole process lasts few seconds.

This makes possible the whale watching. Whales surface the water when breath, and at that moment they are visible from boat or even on nearby shore. Their blowholes, part of the back, dorsal fins, sometimes tails, all expose to the air. From the size, shape and color of whales' dorsal fins an experienced guide can tell their type. Like this:

Minke Whale, Riviere de loup, Quebec, June 15, 2016

or this:

Humpback Whale, Witless Bay, Newfoundland, June 25, 2016

If lucky you may spot a whale breaching in a boat tour, most likely by humpbacks or killer whales, a behavior that whale jump with most part of body leave the water and whirl around, often several times in a row. What motives whale breaching are uncertain. General believe is the transmission of messages, to entertain, or to mark a territory. Take humpbacks for example, they might use breaching communication in times to notify others that the environment is too noisy. Humpbacks are superstars in whale watching tour due to their classic breaching display. Apart from that, these whales sometimes roll over in the water when eating too much, or swim on its back to entertain.

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