Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all the Whale Song followers out there. Mahalo nui for all your support! Wea are preparing for a new season of broadcasting the songs of the Hawaiian humpback whales. Please stay tuned …

First of the season humpback spotted!

The first humpback whale of the season which spotted by a boat captain off the coast of the Big Iceland in Honaunau Bay on September 26th!

According To the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) The Captain Witnessed two tail slaps from a humpback whale yearling in the bay Which is located on the South Kona Coast.

Read more …

New music for The Whalesong Project

Kirk Mann, our mainland fan and friend, donated one of his songs to us. He used our ‘Kalama Lullaby’ recording to compose the wonderful piece of music named ‘Blue Blue Hoizon’. You can enjoy it in the section ‘Whale songs and music’. “It is written from a whales perspective!” he said, hoping that those who download the song will make a donation to The Whalesong Project. You can support our cause to bring live whalesongs to the world here.

Plastic debris is becoming a threat to marine mammals

The 63rd Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) will be held in Jersey, United Kingdom, beginning on July 11. Apart from the ongoing fight to stop commercial whaling a scientific assessment about Ocean garbage was presented at a key international whaling forum this week.

Millions of tonnes of plastic debris dumped each year in the world’s oceans Could pose a lethal threat to whales. A review of research literature from the last two Decades Reveals dog Hundreds of cases in Which cetaceans – an order Including 80-odd species of whales, dolphins and porpoises – have been sickened or killed by marine litter.

Entanglement in plastic bags and fishing gear have long been Identified as a threat to sea birds, turtles and smaller cetaceans. For large ocean-dwelling mammals, HOWEVER, ingestion of seeking refuse is therefore emerging as a serious cause of disability and death, experts say. Read the full article on France24.com

New study on humpback whale songs

 

According to an article on CNN male humpback whales change their songs over time. Researchers in Australia had known that male humpbacks sing as part of courtship and mating behaviors. Now they think the whales may be mixing up their playlist to show off.

“We believe the song is continually changing because the males wish to be novel or slightly different to the male singing next to them,” Ellen Garland, a doctoral student at the University of Queensland, said. Other times, the whales may be picking up a tune they’ve heard before, sort of a sub-Pacific top 40.“The way whales change their song can be compared to how humans follow fashion trends – someone starts a new trend, and before you know it, everyone starts wearing the same thing,” Garland said. The whale tunes move eastward across the Pacific, starting off in Australia and spreading to French Polynesia, according to the study. “I noticed that the songs moved quite rapidly through the six populations, usually taking two years to spread all the way across the region,” Garland said.

The whales were studied over an 11-year period. The full study is published in the journal Current Biology.

Earth Day Whale News

 

Endangered whales gather in unprecedented numbers

What a headline on Earth Day this year! It’s the largest concentration of endangered right whales ever spotted in one location. This unique occasion is giving researchers an unusually rich opportunity to study the animals and their feeding habits.The gathering is an annual affair in the chilly spring waters off Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts.

Scientists believe that there are only 450 right whales in the world but say the numbers have been slowly recovering since commercial whaling of the species was banned more than 70 years ago. The more than 100 whales counted in the bay this month is the largest number recorded in one place, according to the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Read the full article on CNN

Happy Anniversary Whalesong Project!

11 years ago our pilot season ended when our Whalesong boat washed ashore during a storm. Today Trisha, Wendy and Pua Mahoe are representing us for tenth year at the Celebration of the Arts festival at the Ritz Carlton Maui. Radha and David are in New York City promoting our beloved project. Whalesong Germany is solid. I’m in Thailand listening to the beautiful live whalesongs. Thanks to all of you who make it happen! Happy Easter!

THE RITZ-CARLTON, KAPALUA PRESENTS THE 19TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS FESTIVAL – April 22 & 23, 2011

“E na aumakua” … A Call To All Things Natural

The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua will convene Hawaii’s most reputable artisans, educators, cultural practitioners, speakers and entertainers, April 22nd & 23rd, 2011 during the 19th Annual Celebration of the Arts. “E na aumakua is this year’s focus, which embraces calling out to our ancestors and all things natural” states Clifford Nae‘ole, Cultural Advisor and Event Chair of the prestigious event.

We Broadcast Live Whale Songs to the World

 

From the ocean off Maui since the Year 2000: anyone can listen at no charge from anywhere in the world
System Status: Recorded songs now playing while whales have left Hawaiian waters
In bringing live, beautiful and mysterious whalesongs to the world above water, we seek to inspire people to care about the worldʻs oceans, and to promote sustainable human life for a healthy planet, for this and future generations

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