Tail flukes from a humpback named “Moustachio”
Two humpback whales were observed gobbling down schools of anchovies with their surface lunge feeding again today. This is always dramatic. A whale we saw 2 years ago and nicknamed “Moustachio” was one of them. This whale has a very peculiar way of lunge feeding that involves between a 45 and 90 degree body angle breaking the water, mouth open. This involves mostly just the head region, and the the head is forced down almost like it was slapping its chin. Upon closer inspection we learned that Moustachio has very damaged baleen in the front, that causes the fibers to bend out of the mouth, and gives the appearance of a moustache. In reality, it ay be that Moustachio tried to chomp down on something large and solid, which permanently bent its baleen…hence the odd feeding method.
The common dolphins were with us all day, numbers were hard to estimate, but let’s call it 3,000+.
I’ll post the photos tomorrow morning to https://www.MarineBioPhotography.com
best Bob Perry Condor Express