|
A Plea for a Whale
by Paul Forestell
On 13 September 1992, while conducting humpback whale research in Hervey Bay for the Pacific Whale Foundation and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, I got word there was an all-white humpback whale out in Platypus Bay, along the west side of Fraser Island. My research assistants and I went to the area to see the most amazing whale I have seen in 25 years of studying them - a pure white whale, approximately 13 meters long, with pectoral fins stretched 5 meters out to either side of its body.
We watched as it wandered around the Bay, joining other small groups of humpback whales resting in the there, and amazing whalewatchers on the boats that came to see it. The white whale was quite tranquil, and spent the daylight hours roaming around the Bay.
|
|
 The following day, while carrying out aerial observations undertaken for the Parks and Wildlife Service, I saw the whale again off the northeastern end of Fraser Island. It was shining brilliantly through the dark water like a giant, white chocolate sculpture. The whale was being accompanied by one other adult humpback, and appeared to be leaving Hervey Bay to continue its southward journey back to its summer feeding grounds in Antarctica.
I was mesmerized by the white whale - this was the only known occurrence of a humpback whale albino (if indeed it is an albino) in spite of tens of thousands of humpback whales killed by whalers during the first half of the 20th century, and observed by whale researchers during the second half. I contacted a couple of local Aboriginal people - one a tradesman and the other a teacher. I asked them whether an albino whale might have any significance in their culture, and whether they could suggest a name.
The tradesman spoke with an aunt of his, a revered aboriginal elder, and she suggested the name "Migaloo" - which he told me means "white fellah". The teacher told me that she believed albinos (whether humans, kangaroos, or crocodiles) were considered by Aboriginals to be special beings, perhaps signs or tokens from the spirit world. There was no doubt in my mind that this was certainly a special whale.
Paul Hodda, a good friend and director of the Australian Whale Conservation Society, told me he had reported the first sighting of the white whale the previous year, while conducting an annual land-based census of migrating whales from a headland at Byron Bay, NSW. He showed me a sequence of photographs he had taken from shore, which showed the unmistakably shaped dorsal fin
For the next 8 years, I tracked reports of Migaloo, as the high profile humpback made frequent appearances along the east coast of Australia - all the way from Eden in the south, to the Whitsunday Islands to the north. And the Aboriginal elder was correct - the whale indeed is a "fellah" - we have heard him singing (which only male humpback whales do), and he has been photographed accompanying a mother and calf - which, again, only males do (but he is most likely not the father of the calf - escorts to mothers and calves are generally interested in mating with the slow-moving mother, not exercising paternal responsibilities over their offspring - humpback whale males probably do not recognize their offspring.
Working with Paul Hodda, another Australian whale researcher named Dave Paton, and Greg Kaufman of the Pacific Whale Foundation, some 35 confirmed sightings (and numerous unconfirmed ones) were documented between 1991 and 2000. We published an accounting of Migaloo's wanderings in 2001 in the scientific journal Memoirs of the Queensland Museum.
Each year the whale has been seen, the media intensity has heightened, and the efforts to capture the whale on film have increased. This year, the attention to the whale has reached astounding proportions, and Migaloo is becoming victimized by his star status. Earlier this year a diver reported he just happened to be in the water when Migaloo swam right into him; a few days ago a family cruising near the Whitsunday Islands claimed the whale came out of nowhere and hit their boat.
Researchers and government agents are chasing the whale by plane and boat to make sure he is alright (and thankfully he seems to be). There has even been a suggestion that the government might authorize attachment of a satellite tag so they'll know where the whale is and "take care of him."
It is time to give Migaloo a break. Leave him alone. We don't need to take care of him, he can do that himself - we need to take care of the people who want to get close to him, poke him and prod him; just to find out what makes him tick.
Undeniably Migaloo is a special whale, but we cannot do him any good by getting too close, and putting him under the microscope. He is an animal with a highly-developed brain, and natural needs to move through his habitat, unimpeded, to find food, avoid predation, mate, and engage in complex social behaviors.
As a male, he must establish his fitness and competitive capability to win access to ovulating females. He can't do that if he's being pursued by boats and planes. Although scientific poking and prodding may answer some interesting questions of importance to curious humans, there is little of importance to the whale that will be accomplished.
We don't need to stick a satellite tag on him to know where he is (like an ankle bracelet the Justice Department puts on parolees), as though he were under house arrest.
Just let him be. The government has imposed special interest regulations limiting approach by plane or boat. These should be strongly enforced, and applied to any plane or any boat, including those carrying curious scientists or government agents. Manage the humans and leave the whale alone.
Paul Forestell
|
