Bonin Islands | Tony Wu's Underwater Photography Blog

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National Museum Exhibit in Tokyo

Mon, Jul 19th, 2010 | Marine Life, Musings No Comments

I just received this snapshot of my photo of a sperm whale eating giant squid from a friend who visited the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo earlier today. The photo is from a trip to Ogasawara, Japan in October 2009.

My photo on display at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo

The special exhibit about marine mammals will continue until 26 September. I haven’t been able to see the exhibit yet, but I’ve received a lot of positive feedback.

If you’re in Tokyo and have time, it might be worth dropping by.

Incidentally, the same photo is also on display at the Natural History Museum in London, though friends tell me the sperm whale section is dark and difficult to find.

Thanks Michiyo-san!

Update 26 July: I received a couple more photos of the exhibit from another friend:

Crowd looking at the sperm whale exhibit

Another view of the display with my sperm whale photo

Thanks Wakae-san!

Whale Watching at Home

Wed, Apr 14th, 2010 | Musings 2 Comments

Meet my new friend, a 50cm hand-carved wooden sperm whale, which arrived earlier today from Ogasawara.

sperm whale carving

The carving was specially made by an incredibly talented artist who lives in Ogasawara.

My friend and fellow photographer Douglas Seifert (who’s website has been “under construction” since the inception of the internet) has a carving similar to this one, and there’s a third on its way over to Eric Cheng.

I’ve named my new cetacean companion Scar, in honour of the friendly male sperm whale that I met in Dominica earlier this year.

Now I can go whale watching any time I want!

Bryde’s Whale

Fri, Nov 13th, 2009 | Marine Life, Places, Adventures 7 Comments

I’ve just arrived at Kasawari Lembeh Resort, and I’m getting ready to get some sleep to rest up for a full day of diving tomorrow (hurray!). Before I hit the sack, I thought I’d post one final set of images from Ogasawara…a couple of photographs of Bryde’s whales.

Our final day in Ogasawara was a beautiful one…winds calm, sun bright, water a perfect blue…but not a sperm whale in sight. After we had cruised around for several hours without much to show for our efforts, keen-eyed Julia Sumerling spotted something far off in the distance.

We lost whatever it was, then saw it again, then wandered around semi-aimlessly…and eventually, late in the afternoon, we zeroed in enough to see that Julia had spotted a pair of elusive Bryde’s whales (pronounced “brooda’s” whales).

There are at least two species of Bryde’s whales, Balaenoptera brydei and Balaenoptera edeni. According to the captain and his wife, the pair we came across were the latter.

I believe that encounters with Bryde’s whales are rare. They certainly are in Ogasawara. Makoto-san has been working with cetaceans in Ogasawara for over 20 years, and this was only his second encounter. Tomoko-san had never seen a Bryde’s whale in local waters.

whale

The pair was travelling at high speed, spending a lot of time submerged, coming up for a few short breaths before diving again.

Though obviously together, the pair didn’t stay with one another all the time. They split up and put quite a bit of distance between them on several occasions, which contributed to the difficulty of tracking them. Fast-moving, zig-zagging, submerged whales aren’t exactly easy to follow.

At one point, the pair pulled up alongside the boat. With crystal-clear visibility and bright sun overhead, we could see their entire bodies.

My first impression was: “Wow…beautiful.”

At roughly 12 metres in length, the Bryde’s whales were sleek, streamlined, refined. The best word I can think of to describe them is “elegant”.

By the time we had found the whales and managed to get close, it was late in the afternoon, so we weren’t able to track them for long. The chances for an in-water encounter were slim, given their high-speed and general elusiveness, but after securing a few topside ID images, I suited up and waited for an opportunity to get in…which came just as we were about to give up.

One of the whales swam alongside, the captain dropped engine power, and in we went. The whale kept going, but when I dived down to get a better look, it turned and swam parallel to me for just a few brief seconds…long enough for me to take a handful of pictures…before it turned away and continued going wherever it was going.

The crater-like scars on the whale’s body (clearly visible in the image below) are probably from bites by cookie-cutter sharks, deep dwellers that make a living by carving out chunks of flesh from larger animals like this.

whale

My virgin experience seeing a Bryde’s whale in the water…a perfect end to a perfect trip.

Note: Photographs taken under permit.

Seven-arm Octopus

Tue, Nov 10th, 2009 | Marine Life, Places, Adventures 1 Comment

This is what’s left of a seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus). We came across a couple of these while in Ogasawara.

octopus

Seven-arm octopuses are the largest known octopus species, allegedly growing up to something like four metres in length and weighing 75kg! The ones we saw were from significantly smaller animals, as you can tell from this photo of my friend Tomoko-san photographing the floating blob:

octopus

Despite the common name, this octopus has eight arms, just like all other octopuses. The “seven-arm” name derives from the fact that the mating arm is coiled away and obscured from view in males…often giving it the appearance of having one less arm than it should.

In case you’re wondering, the octopus was slimy, and left behind a sticky film/ residue if you touched it (Of course…I had to touch it!). Otherwise, it was gelatinous and slippery, similar to what the bell of a large jellyfish feels like (Yes, I’ve touched those too).

I’m not sure if anyone knows for certain, but I suspect the bits we found floating at the surface were leftovers from sperm whale meals, or maybe from other deep-diving whales. Perhaps these octopuses don’t taste very good, and the whales spit them out? (No, I didn’t taste one).

Note: Incidentally, the plural of octopus is octopuses, not octopi. The word derives from Greek (okto+pous), not Latin, so the Latin plural form (ending in “i”) isn’t correct. Octopodes is ok too, but no one uses this word.

Choose Your Travel Companions With Care

Sun, Nov 8th, 2009 | Funny Stuff, Marine Life, Places, Adventures 5 Comments

If you travel as frequently as I do, you learn to be careful about the people you associate with. I pride myself on being highly discriminating, choosing to fraternize only with individuals of the utmost sophistication and grace:

giant squid

People who, when confronted with a scientifically valuable discovery of a 351cm giant squid arm segment, would behave in a manner befitting the circumstances:

Though I must admit error in judgement from time to time, as during my most recent excursion, when imprudent choice of travel companions precipitated the need for me to undertake an impromptu ablution to expunge the unyielding aroma of decomposing cephalopod:

Ogasawara

Thu, Nov 5th, 2009 | Places, Adventures, Video, Multimedia 4 Comments

Besides the fact that we saw sperm whales, lots of dolphins, and giant squid parts(!), the trip to Ogasawara was a lot of fun. We had a terrific group of people, and Ogasawara is a laid-back, unspoiled bit of paradise in the middle of the Pacific that’s difficult not to fall in love with.

Below is a short video/ slideshow to give you an idea of what it’s like in Ogasawara. It’s a large file, so let it buffer before you play if you have a relatively slow internet connection.

All the images and video (including the sperm whale underwater) were shot with Canon cameras…5D, 5D Mark II, 1D Mark III.

I may be heading back to Ogasawara again next year. If you’re interested in joining, drop me a note via my contact form.

How to Measure a Giant Squid Arm

Wed, Nov 4th, 2009 | Marine Life, Places, Adventures, Video, Multimedia 3 Comments

Here is a sentence that I’ve been wanting to write for a long time: “I swam down into the blue and retrieved the arm of giant squid.”

I know. For most people, doing something like this isn’t a life goal. I get it. I’m not normal.

But it doesn’t matter, because I did it, and it’s something I’ll never forget.

giant squid arm

Here’s the condensed version of what happened:

While we were cruising along in deep water looking for signs of sperm whales, the captain’s wife shouted something from the top deck. I looked up and saw her gesturing frantically, but with the combined noise of the engine, wind and ocean swells, I could neither understand what she was saying, nor grasp the reason for her excitement.

Following the time-tested principle of “act first, think later”, I grabbed my mask, snorkel, fins and camera and jumped into the water. Visibility was excellent. I immediately saw a long, reddish object sinking into the blue…and swam down about 10 metres to take a closer look.

giant squid arm

As I approached the squid arm, my brain finally kicked in (the “think later” part), and I realised that the only reason a rapidly sinking giant squid arm would be at the paltry depth of 10 metres is if a sperm whale (i.e., large animal with big mouth) had just dropped it…like perhaps only seconds earlier.

At that point, I looked around in a brief moment of panic (or sanity, depending upon your point of view)…thinking that perhaps the whale that had dropped such a tasty morsel might not appreciate my absconding with it. Fortunately, the previous owner was nowhere to be seen, so I ~~avoided becoming whale food~~ grabbed the squid arm and swam back to the surface.

We kept the arm segment on ice until the next morning, when we had sufficient space and light to measure it, then donated it to the research community.

Below is a short video of fellow underwater photographer Douglas Seifert measuring the (pungent) squid arm:

Dolphins

Mon, Nov 2nd, 2009 | Marine Life, Places, Adventures 1 Comment

During my stay in Ogasawara, I was fortunate enough to encounter four species of dolphins, three of which I was able to photograph.

First up were pan-tropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata), which we encountered several times. Pan-tropicals are a lot of fun to watch from the boat, as they can be really active and playful, but they’re the total opposite in the water.

dolphin

There can be a few dozen swimming like crazy around the boat, but the second you get in the water…poof! They vanish quicker than kegs at a frat party.

We also saw two different species of bottlenose dolphins. The first was the kind that most people are familiar with…common bottlenose dolphins, or Tursiops truncatus…recognisable by their short snouts.

dolphins

I’ve seen this particular species of dolphin in many places around the world. Their temperament varies from location to location, with some populations being highly approachable, and others just downright rude. In Ogasawara, they’re somewhat standoff-ish…generally ok with boats, but not easy to approach in the water.

dolphins

There was also a second species of bottlenose…Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), which are relatively slimmer, and a heckuva lot more friendly than their truncatus cousins…at least in these waters. They’re accustomed to boats and people, so if you’re a decent swimmer, you can swim along with them…if they’re in the right mood.

dolphins

Finally, we saw some rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), though we weren’t able to get photos. In fact, images of rough-toothed dolphins are quite rare, though I was lucky enough to get a nice in-water shot a couple of years ago in Tonga.

Sperm Whale IDs

Sat, Oct 31st, 2009 | Featured, Marine Life, Places, Adventures, Video, Multimedia 3 Comments

It’s been about a week since I got back from photographing sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Ogasawara with friends Eric Cheng, Douglas and Emily Seifert, and Julia Sumerling.

There is a lot I want to write about the trip, but as a first priority, I went through my photos and tried to do something that I don’t think anyone else has done/ is doing…ID individual sperm whales using in-water photos.

The somewhat crazy idea came to me because:

(a) My humpback whale calf ID project in Tonga is going well, with interesting revelations and help starting to come in from other people; and

(b) We were fortunate enough to see a lot of whales in the water the first few days we were in Ogasawara, and I noticed that many of the sperm whales have what appear to be unique white markings on their bodies, particularly in the lower abdominal area.

At first, I wasn’t sure if the white markings were unique to the whales in this particular area, or whether all sperm whales have these markings. I’m still not entirely certain (since there aren’t that many in-water images of sperm whales), but after checking Hal Whitehead’s book about sperm whales, a copy of which Julia brought along on the trip, I saw that a few of the images in his book showed whales in other parts of the world with similar markings.

So I decided early on in the trip to try to take as many photos of the undersides of sperm whales as possible, and catalogue our cetacean encounters once I got home.

Here is the result (the video may take a while to download, so give it time to buffer if you have a slow internet connection):

In summary, I was able to identify nine individual whales, all of which I believe to be members of a group of relatively friendly whales…the ones that had the giant squid. There were almost certainly more whales in the group.

What also seemed to emerge from the pattern of encounters is that the whale that we eventually saw with the squid in its mouth may have been the matriarch or leader of this particular group, as she showed up in a large percentage of my photos, meaning she approached us relatively often.

ID-ing sperm whales is a lot more difficult than humpbacks. Humpbacks are surface-active whales, while sperm whales dive down hundreds, even thousands of metres…and they stay down. But still, it is possible to ID them, as this short video demonstrates.

Whether these IDs will come in useful over the long-term or not…only time will tell. If I get a chance to go back, I’m hoping to continue this endeavour, with the objective of seeing if it’s possible to document a consistent population and/ or frequent visitors to the area.

The video above is small, so it’s difficult to read the text. This is a PDF document (11MB) of the slides in the presentation, and this is a bigger Quicktime video file (640×360, 79MB…Do not click this link and try to open in your browser. Right click to download the file only if you have a good internet connection.). There’s also a .mp4 file available via iTunes.

Note: Photographs taken under permit.

Upside Down

Mon, Oct 26th, 2009 | Marine Life, Places, Adventures 2 Comments

As usual, it’s been a whirlwind of activity for me after getting back yesterday from my trip to photograph sperm whales…responding two weeks late to “urgent” emails, catching up on other messages, plowing through snail mail, confirming plans for my next trip, sorting through equipment, ordering supplies, etc.

The long and the short of it is that it’ll take me a while to upload more information about the amazingly successful trip we had to Ogasawara.

For the time being, here’s a teaser image of a sperm whale having fun at the surface:

sperm whale

Why was the whale swimming upside down? I guess just because it can.

Note: Photograph taken under permit.

Sperm Whales!

Sun, Oct 18th, 2009 | Marine Life, Places, Adventures 13 Comments

…just a quick update from the Ogasawara Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where I’ve been for the past week or so with a few friends photographing sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus).

In short, we’ve had really good luck, encountering sperm whales on most days, as well as seeing a bunch of other interesting stuff, like Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), pan-tropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata), deep-water octopus parts (left overs from sperm whale meals…I think from a seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus)), and even a few beaked whales (from the surface only).

The highlight so far has been an encounter with a group of six sperm whales (five adult females and a baby), with one of the adults chewing on a giant squid. Yes…I know it sounds unbelievable, but we have photos and video to prove it!

In fact, our trip has been such a success that we’ve extended our stay, so I won’t be back to regular communication until after the 25th of this month. My access to the internet is restricted, so I don’t anticipate posting again while I’m here.

For now, following are a handful of sample images, starting with a sperm whale profile: