Humpback Whale Festival

All of the interns and the boss piled into the rental van, crowded by all of our equipment to journey to Rincón’s Humpback Whale Festival.  Actually, the festival seemed more like a craft fair, as vendors had their artistic creations of jewelry, glass figures, food, and wooden pieces on display, although many did include the likeness of the humpback whale on or among their items. 

Our role was to educate the public on humpback whales and their importance to Puerto Rico, and to engage them in the research being conducted at the center.  In order to better demonstrate the work and to take advantage of being at one of the surveying locations, we set up the tracking equipment, including a theodolite and a pair of large, heavy, marine-worthy binoculars. 

Having not been as immersed in the research as the longer-term interns to effectively communicate with the public, I was able to focus my attention on learning and practicing field skills.  Using the naked eye and binoculars, two to three other interns and I scanned the sea for anything out of the ordinary that might indicate a humpback whale.  We were on the lookout for common behaviors, such as breaching out of the water, shooting water from a blowhole, slapping pectoral fins, slapping tail, or displaying fluke.  Having never seen any of these behaviors before, I was uncertain what to look for in this large oceanic expanse with several kilometers of visibility and little training; however, it’s one of those things that one recognizes when one sees it.

We continued in this way for several hours, with breaks of course, until a downpour replaced the beating hot sun, which drove us under cover and left many of our possessions soaked.  In spite of not having seen a humpback whale all day, this signaled the end of our time here, and we gradually sorted, dried, and packed our things for the return trip to the van.