Day three of our expedition and everything was different. The sperm whales were not very friendly. One of the whales lifted its tail out of the water and slammed it hard on the ocean's surface. This was the first time I had seen them do that.
When it did that, I didn't overthink about it. I just excitedly grabbed my topside camera, hoping it was going to do it again. I thought it was being playful… it wasn't.
It was a warning to back off.
We, of course, find out why the sperm whales were on edge. The pilot whales were around. It was a pod of about 25-30 strong. Pilot whales are dangerous predators for baby sperm whales, so it makes sense why they behaved the way they did.
This was the reason we had so much trouble finding sperm whales during our May trip earlier this season, the pilot whales were there almost every day and the whales were spooked.
So we decided to leave the sperm whales alone and spent the rest of the day with the pilot whales, and damn, what a good day it was. They were highly social and allowed us many opportunities to see them up close.
I really like these whales. They are cool looking, and you can see them thinking when they look at you. I really wish I could understand what they were thinking because you can almost feel it when they come in close.
It was fun, and we jumped in a lot with them. The big males are the most curious, and when they come in for a look, they come in close. The moms and calves are more nervous about us and try to keep their distance.
We spent a good two hours with the whales before we called it a day. With each jump, they were getting further and further away from the island, moving into the Atlantic. Hopefully, they were just passing through and had no plans of staying. If they stay, it will make interactions with the sperm whales more challenging.
Let's just see what tomorrow brings. Until then, thanks for reading.