Amazing times at Hauganes, North Iceland
The last week has been amazing at Whale Watching Hauganes. The humpback whales have been really playful. Tail lobbing, breaches and pectoral fin slapping. We don’t know why they breach and slap their flippers and flukes, but we really enjoy seeing it. It’s truly wonderful to see a humpback whale breach in Iceland
Hypotheses
Some hypotheses go around about why they breach although scientists have not managed to find out the exact answer. One hypothesis is that the whales are scratching off parasites and barnacles.
Another hypothesis is that they are communicating by breaching and trying to find each other.
We have noticed that in strong winds they are more likely to do a full breach (big breach) than in calm weathers. One guess is that in strong winds and strong currents, their signals don’t travel through the ocean as well as in light breeze and no current so that’s why they breach more frequently in that type of weather. That type of weather is quite frequent in Iceland so that’s maybe why they breach often around the small island!
Or maybe they’re just having a good time.. 🙂
Sometimes we think it’s just for fun and for showing off. Sometimes a humpback that has been spy hopping and swimming around the boat for some time, and clearly knows that we’re watching, decides to do 3-4 big breaches.
Seeing a playful humpback whale is absolutely amazing and in the stunning landscapes of Iceland it gets even more amazing!
In the golden Hour in Iceland
And here is a SUPER cute video of a humpback calf breaching with his mother!
It’s not our video but it’s just too good to skip it!
