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Diving and underwater photography legend Kurt Amsler experiences the encounter of a lifetime when he meets a Sperm whale giving birth to its baby

Spotlight

HEREGOOGLE EARTH COORDINATES HERE

An adult Sperm whale Physeter catodonfreely swimming

in its element - the open sea.

A UNIQUE ENCOUNTER WITH SPERM WHALES

BIRTH OF A GIANTA UNIQUE ENCOUNTER WITH SPERM WHALES

BIRTH OF A GIANT

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TEXT AND PHOTOS BY KURT AMSLER

American whalers came to theAzores, off the coast of Portugal, in theearly 19th century. Although they didn’tinitially operate in these waters, theislands were used for provisioning andsupplementing crews with energeticyoung men from the archipelago. Intime, Azoreans took up whalingthemselves, establishing their ownwhaling stations along the coast.

Whaling in the Azores significantlydeclined in the 1970s and officiallyceased with the International WhalingCommission (IWC) ban in 1986. In itsstead, a lucrative new business hasarisen: now visitors hunt whales withphoto and video cameras rather thanharpoons. This is what brought me tothe Azores.

For five days we cruised the islands ofFaial and Pico. Nine hours a day in asmall boat gets long and tiresome, butit’s necessary for close encounters withthe giant sperm whales of the Atlantic.

continued on page 95 ›

A beautiful image of themother Sperm whale

introducing her newbornchild to the other whales and

to the photographer.

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The newborn baby cannot yet swim properly and is

kept at the surface by themother and the midwives.

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A truly uniquephotographicsequenceshowing themother givingbirth -surrounded bymidwives - andthe first breathof the baby,again with thehelp of themidwives.

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The enormous motherarrives to carefully checkout the photographer.

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Both technically and physically, spermwhale photography poses some of thegreatest challenges to the underwaterphotographer. In addition to beingextremely shy, sperm whales useecholocation to detect sound andmovement for up to several miles. Toavoid scaring them away with enginenoise and scuba bubbles, boats mustremain far from the whales, andfreediving is the only practical way toapproach them.

The day started promisingly with threesightings and an underwater encounterto within about 65 feet. From a smallboat like the one we used, it is notpossible to see whales from the surface.Therefore, we worked with vigias dabaleia— people who watch for whales

from hillside observation towers,remnants from when commercialwhaling was still practiced in theAzores.

Centuries ago Azoreans constructedlookouts high above sea level onseveral of the islands. From thesevantage points they used binoculars tospot their quarry and communicated thelocations to the whalers with smokesignals, rockets and eventually radios.These observers were the mostimportant men in the Azorean whalingtrade, as only they could direct whalersto their targets. The local whalers weregenerally fishermen, craftsmen orfarmers who dropped what they weredoing when a whale was spotted. Thecry “Baleia! Baleia!” would send them

PhotographerKurt Amslerdives with a

Sperm whale inin the Azores

(photo by FredBuyle).

Right, themother

introduces herchild to the

other whalesand to thesnorkelling

photographer.

continued on page 97 ›

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The gigantic Sperm whalemother approaches on thesurface, checking out the

photographer.

running to the harbor, where their boats— at first slender rowing boats calledcanoas, evolving to motor boats by thesecond half of the 20th century — werealways ready to set out.

Our boat’s radio suddenly crackled,and from the driver’s reaction I could tellit was a good message. A group ofabout six animals had been spottedabout one nautical mile to the south.Courtesy of twin 150-horsepowermotors, we reached the spot quicklyand saw our quarry. The pod wasswimming in circles very slowly — adecidedly strange behavior. We cut themotors to avoid scaring them away,and we kept to a safe distance of about100 yards. With a last look at the pod’sposition, I gently slid into the water.

For the first 60 yards I swam as fast aspossible, scanning the blue to try toglimpse the animals, but there wasnothing but a big murky cloud. I soonrealized that the cloud suspended in thewater was actually blood, whichappeared greenish because of the lossof red light underwater. This explainedthe pod’s strange behavior. I thoughtthey must be watching over a woundedmember.

Female sperm whales are famouslysocial. They form networks with theiryoung and live in groups of 15 to 20animals. Sexually mature males leavethe pod and form associations witholder males but travel alone. I assumed(correctly, as it turned out later) that thiswas a pod of females.

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PhotographerKurt Amslerdives with aSperm whale(photo by FredBuyle). Left, after20 minutes thebaby can swimindependentlyand is able todive by itself.

As the whales’ communication soundsintensified, I could make out the groupabout 20 yards away, huddled justbelow the surface. But with the sundirectly in front of me it was difficult tosee exactly what was going on.

I descended to 50 feet to carefully passbeneath them. My descent revealed thatmy initial assessment was wrong: therewas no wounded animal; it was amother giving birth. The placenta andbits of skin were floating in the wateraround the calf, which had left thewomb only seconds earlier.

Even at birth, sperm whales break allrecords for toothed whales: A baby canweigh more than a ton. Bulls can reacha length of 60 feet and weigh morethan 40 tons; they are the biggesttoothed predator and have the largestbrain of any animal. Despite theseimpressive statistics, newborn spermwhales remain relatively helpless.Unable to swim in the first minutes oflife, an infant sperm whale relies on agroup of females to help it enter theworld.

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Once the process of birthhad begun more Spermwhales arrived to share the event.

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Five midwives floated the still-immobilenewborn to the surface to take its first breath,while the mother, still weak from birthing,watched from below. With every passingminute the calf became increasingly mobileuntil it could swim independently for shortdistances. I heard its communication, whichhad a higher pitch than the others — like thevoice of a child.

To avoid disturbing the animals I movedcarefully and maintained a distance of about30 feet. Up to this point the whales had notnoticed my presence, but suddenly themother wanted to identify the stranger intheir midst.

Quietly but directly, the 30-foot-long giantturned in my direction and swam right up tome. Her massive head got bigger andbigger as the displaced water pushed meaway. Water churned around me as thenoise of her exhalations thundered in my

ears. I saw her eye looking at me, and Idiscerned no aggression at all.

Sperm whales are stocky, and theircharacteristic bulbous heads can account forup to a third of their total length. Researchersbelieve that the whales’ heads serve as“acoustic lenses,” focusing sound waves sentout during echolocation. Emitting high-frequency clicking sounds, the animals scanthe surrounding environment and are able toimage a large area.

Whales communicate perpetually and areaudible to others over great distances. As thebirth was communicated, more and moreanimals arrived for the event. As the giantscongregated, I realized that I was fullyaccepted.The mother swam to the other groups ofwhales to present her child. Incredibly, sheeven did the same for me, stopping andallowing the baby to swim toward me. After

Photographer Kurt Amslerprepares to dive. Top right,a tentacle of a giant squid,the usual prey of Spermwhales. Below, more Spermwhales join the event.

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about 20 minutes, the baby was alreadystronger and faster — and eager to ventureaway on its own, which the mother did notlike at all. Using her immense, toothy mouth,she brought her little runaway back to thesurface.

As the event came to its conclusion, thewhales disappeared into the blue of theAtlantic, while the mother descended with herchild into the depths.

Sperm whales swim in all oceans. They’remost commonly found in the tropics andsubtropics, but they also explore colder seas.In 2004 a sperm whale was even spotted inthe Baltic Sea for the first time.

The average dive time for a sperm whale is45 minutes, but some may extend up to 120minutes. How it’s possible for sperm whalesto hold their breath for such extended periodshas not yet been fully explained, but it is

known that they are able to restrict and slowtheir metabolism to a minimum while diving,during which time blood is directed onlytoward essential organs such as the heart,brain and spinal cord.

Unfortunately, these hearty and majesticanimals are still in danger. Commercialwhaling continues by some countries —notably Japan, Norway, Iceland and theFaroe Islands — that found loopholes ordeclared an objection to the IWC’s ban,resulting in the death of thousands of whaleseach year.

In my 45 years of underwater photography, Ihave documented many spectacular andunique situations, but this experienceprovided the single most powerful encounterof my life. I´m sure my images will spreadawareness and encourage people to supportthe protection of these intelligent andendangered marine mammals. .

The child checks out thephotographer. Right, one of the original whale watchoutposts. Below, theexpedition team: AndreasGruber, Kurt Amsler and Bea Metzger.

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THE SPERM WHALEPhyseter macrocephalus or

Physeter catodonEven at birth the sperm whale breaks allrecords for toothed whales; a baby whale canweight over a ton. But it is their diving capabili-ties that really stand out. One specimen whichwas equipped with sensors and transmittersdove to a depth of 2,270 meters. The bulls canreach a length of 18 meters and a weight of 40tons. As such they are the biggest predators onthe planet. The body is stocky and the charac-teristic bulbous head can account for a third ofthe total length. The dorsal fin is small and ithas short and stubby pectoral fins. The tail flukeis shaped like two equilateral triangles and isslightly rounded at the top and deeply notchedin the middle. The one blowhole is located atthe upper tip of the head. The huge head of asperm whale is to a large part filled with an oilysubstance, also called spermaceti. It is believedthat the head also serves as an “acoustic lens”focusing sound waves sent out during echolocation. Emitting high-frequency clickingsounds the animals scan the surrounding envi-ronment and are able to image a large area.The sperm whale is found in all oceans. It ismost common in the tropics and subtropics, butis also found in colder seas. In 2004, a spermwhale was even spotted in the Baltic Sea forthe first time. On average, the males dive dee-per than females. The duration of a dive can befrom 20 to 120 minutes. How it’s possible forsperm whales to hold their breath for suchextended periods of time has not yet been fullyexplained. It is known that they are able torestrict and slow down their metabolism to aminimum while diving, during which time, bloodis directed only towards essential organs suchas the heart, brain and spinal cord. In addition,sperm whales have 50 percent more hemoglo-bin in their blood than humans do, enablingthem to store large supplies of oxygen. Spermwhales’ preferred prey is squid, and parts of thefabled giant squid has regularly been found intheir stomachs. Females form social networkswith their young and live in groups of about 15to 20 animals. Sexually mature males thenleave and later form associations or groupswith older males but travel alone.

Above, an image of thepreserved whale factory at

Horta Island of Fial. Right, two archive

photographs of whale hunting at the Azores

as it took place until 1984.

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Moby Dickby Herman Melville

This novel, which is now a literary classic, was, incredibly, a commercial failure when itwas first published in London and New York in 1851. And it was only a long time after theauthor’s death in 1891, when the book was well out of print, that its reputation rose duringthe 20th century. One of the most distinctive features of the book is the variety of genresthat appear. Melville uses a wide range of styles and literary devices to blend the com-plexity of the fascinating whale, the ethical ambivalence of hunting these magnificent crea-tures, and the incredibly diverse appreciation of whales and whaling across the world’scultures. Moby Dick is based on Melville’s actual experience on a whaling vessel. Hedescribed the whale in either florid mythical terms or in the language of the early marinebiologists; some passages are written using the old jargon of the New England Quakers,others like the preaching tales of old Bible translations. In any case, he moved with easefrom the language of a sailor to the dry prose of expedition reports, and described exoticcultures in the style of the somewhat racially-biased adventure literature of the day in orderto fit right into the prevailing tone of the establishment. Whoever is interested in whales(and great literature) must read Moby Dick. This extraordinary novel has been brought tothe big screen at least seven times in several faithful (or not so faithful) versions, notably inMoby Dick, directed in 1956 by John Huston from a screenplay by Ray Bradbury and star-ring Gregory Peck as the obsessed captain Ahab.

A contemporaryphotographic portrait ofauthor Herman Melville(inset) and two artisticinterpretations of itslegendary creation MobyDick, the White Whale.

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