tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067507179347221008.post8807268572339683232..comments2008-01-23T09:50:02.246-10:00BNShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709074385552082635noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067507179347221008.post-24144952136649457502008-01-23T09:50:00.000-10:002008-01-23T09:50:00.000-10:00Hi Flowers - Yes, seeing these creatures is an unforgettable experience, isn't it?<BR/><BR/>BobbieBNShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709074385552082635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067507179347221008.post-1574353246362859132008-01-23T06:31:00.000-10:002008-01-23T06:31:00.000-10:00Hey us flowers are intrigued by whales and the last lot we saw were off the South African coast, near Hermanus - simply breath taking!GO! Smell the flowershttp://www.gosmelltheflowers.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067507179347221008.post-75932911785368435462008-01-22T07:14:00.000-10:002008-01-22T07:14:00.000-10:00Hi Christopher - Yours is a good question. First, you are right. The whales do NOT feed on reef fish, so there's no reason for them to fear the whales. <BR/><BR/>Activity on the reefs does not seem much affected by the whale sounds. The whale sounds get very loud when the whales are close by, but they move around constantly, so what you get is a crescendo/decrescendo kind of thing, with some periods of silence, or near-silence.<BR/><BR/>They do swim over the reef areas. We have seen them in areas as shallow as 10 meters (about 33 feet). When that happens, they quite literally dominate the space as they pass over the reef. Everybody ducks into the coral, which, I think, is the little fishies' automatic response to anything big -- including a shadow -- passing directly overhead.<BR/><BR/>BobbieBNShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709074385552082635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067507179347221008.post-89035302529205312032008-01-22T03:15:00.000-10:002008-01-22T03:15:00.000-10:00So what happens to the life on the reef when these vocalizations are going on? I understand that Humpbacks do not feed on tropicals, but are the reef fish at all affected by these loud and distracting conversations? Do you find that the reefs are a little more vacant or are they unaffected in these winter months? <BR/>Here in Florida we experience Pilot Whales offshore in the spring. They are not quite as big as the Humpback but do cause boaters some concern as they may strike a whale capsize their boat. They are also very rarely seen (if at all) on the shallow reefs.<BR/>Cheers!<BR/><A HREF="http://luckyink.com/art_blog" REL="nofollow">Christopher</A>Christopher Smarthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12755583200311645609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067507179347221008.post-58589733677837261452008-01-21T17:30:00.000-10:002008-01-21T17:30:00.000-10:00Yes, Mon@rch, they are indeed amazing. It's actually kind of hard to write about these experiences -- hard to find the right words. But I'll try.<BR/><BR/>BobbieBNShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10709074385552082635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067507179347221008.post-87447316212307335692008-01-21T16:59:00.000-10:002008-01-21T16:59:00.000-10:00I can't wait to hear about your face to face encounters with them! This is great with such an amazing mammal!mon@rchhttp://monarchbfly.comnoreply@blogger.com