This month we're revisiting one of our favorite topics: WHALES!
Most whale species are either "Threatened" or "Endangered."
We'll take a look at why, and also share an amazing whale adventure and photos with you.
I took this month's headline photo, Eye-to-Eye with a Baby Humpback, in the Silver Bank whale sanctuary of the Dominican Republic. Looking into the eye of a whale is a transforming experience.
This short 4-minute YouTube video was taken in Tonga, South Pacific, by Rob Barrel, on a humpback whale adventure that I was fortunate to experience with friends Judy & Jon Hemenway.
If you advance to about the 3:20 mark, watch as one of the whales begins to pirouette like a 30-ton ballerina. A few seconds later the whale actually extends a pec fin, in what appears to be an attempt to make contact with Rob. Amazing stuff!
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Humpback Whales Play With Divers in Tonga; Attempt Contact
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This month's Conservation Corner illustrates the threats whales face from whale hunting nations, including Russia, Japan, and Iceland.
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This month's
Story Behind the Photo
article features a close encounter I had with a humpback whale in Tonga, South Pacific.
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If you have a photo with an interesting story, or would like to share a good dive yarn, let me know at
[email protected]
and I'll be happy to include your story in a future issue.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Sea-gram !
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Conservation Corner . . .
Humpbacks (and other whales) Need Our Help
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S
ea-gram reader Tish Dace sent us this story about why humpback whales, known as "Singers of the Seas," are going silent.
This can inhibit their ability to communicate, breed and find food:
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Sea-gram fan Tom Helmke sent us this horrible story with video, about a "Whale Jail" in Russia, where over 100 whales (Beluga and Orcas) are being kept in order to sell them to theme parks in China:
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A major threat is illegal whaling by Japan, and other whaling nations:
A minke whale bleeds to death at the end of the Yushin Maru's harpoon
Greenpeace volunteers photograph a dead mother & calf being hauled aboard a Japanese "research" vessel.
The ICR website sign posted just above the dead whales is the Institute for Cetacean Research, Japan's cover operation for illegal whaling.
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Story Behind the Photo . . .
Close Encounter
By Paul Mila
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One sunny morning in the South Pacific I was snorkeling and free diving with humpbacks in Tonga, aboard the
NAI'A. My trip to the
"Far Side of the World" was to celebrate hitting
"The Big 6-0
"
a few months earlier.
I was watching several whales cavorting just ahead of me, when suddenly the water began to rock. I looked to my right and was startled to see a large humpback, easily 40 feet long, and weighing as many tons, surface right next to me.
As we stared at each other for a couple of seconds I had the feeling that the whale was not as impressed with me as I was with him/her.
I was using a wide-angle lens, but was so close that I only got the front third of the whale's body in the frame.
The whale began to swim and let me tag along. I thought, "This is amazing. I'm actually swimming along with a humpback whale!"
I heard the whale take several explosive breath's, huge "whooshing" sounds, as it recharged it's massive lungs.
Then the whale arched its back, raised its tail flukes, and dived. I took this photo, then watched, mesmerized, as it disappeared into the deep blue. I just floated, alone, and tried to comprehend what I had just experienced.
Humpback Diving for the Deep; Paul Mila photo
Photo Equipment:
SeaLife DC1000 camera with wide angle lens, set for ambient light, no flash.
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About MilaBooks.com
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www.milabooks.com
is your home for exciting dive adventure novels, nonfiction dive stories, children's books,
and YouTube videos featuring various ocean creatures.
In the spirit of our whale issue, check out
Whales' Angels, my anti-whaling adventure/thriller.
Available from Amazon, Milabooks.com, and at Scuba Network, Long Island.
Click on the cover photo for more information:
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| Click the reading dolphin and swim into our website |
Thanks for visiting, and we'll
see
you next month!
MilaBooks.com
75 Titus Avenue
Carle Place, New York 11514
516-578-1482
To forward Sea-gram to a friend, please click the "Forward email" link below.
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| Conservation Corner: Humpbacks Need Our Help!
Story Behind the Photo:
Close Encounter
Stories lower left column. |
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| Quick Links |
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Updates & Miscellaneous Features
Join Sea Shepherd
For A Beach Cleanup
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society NYC volunteers are holding their second Sandy Hook Bay clean up in Sandy Hook NJ, Sunday, November 18th.
WHAT: Sandy Hook NJ Beach Cleanup
WHEN:
Sunday, November 18, 2018 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
WHERE:
Sandy Hook Beach - Lot B
Hartshorne Dr. Sandy Hook, NJ 07732
For more information please contact us:
Please call 551-486-2762. We will provide bags and work gloves.
We look forward to seeing you there!
To see Sea Shepherd's other conservation campaigns, click on:
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New York Whale Adventures!
If you live in the NYC area you don't have to venture to the far-flung corners of the globe to experience humpback whale and dolphin encounters.
Click on their website for more information:
Or call: 718-938-2067
For Humpback Adventures in the Silver Bank, Dominican Republic,
Visit:
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For Humpback Adventures in
Tonga,
South Pacific,
aboard the NAI'A
If you enjoy reading non-fiction ocean adventures, including our encounters with humpback and gray whales,
pick up a copy of
Bubbles Up, Buoyant adventures
Coauthored by Judith Hemenway and me.
Click on the book cover for more information:
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Visit a fun dive site, where you can rent a Cozumel beachfront condo, view great dive photos, and more!
Check out the view from the condo:
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Morning at the Residencias Reef
Beachfront Condo |
Fulvio manages my
Little Slice of Paradise.
For other properties that Fulvio manages visit his site:
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New York Diving
Scuba Network of Long Island
Sales, Service, Basic & Advanced Dive Instruction,
Local Diving & Exotic Dive Trips
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For the best in Cozumel diving,
check out dive operator Alison Dennis:
Contact Nancy Edwards at:
or
Jaime Ramirez, at:
Post a link to your web site on Sea-gram!
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Join Our Mailing List
If a friend forwarded Sea-gram to you and you'd like to receive future issues, let us know. Click the JOIN link above, or e-mail me at [email protected]
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