Humpback whale hunting journey of two Vietnamese boys on the sea of ​​'paradise'

Watch the "opera singers of the ocean"  

Originally two close friends in Saigon, both fascinated by the blockbuster movie "Avatar", Tran Thanh Tam and Le Huu Phuoc (HCMC) had the idea of ​​one day going to Mauritius to see humpback whales. Because humpback whales are the idea behind the character Tulkun that director James Cameron portrayed in the movie Avatar 2. He is also passionate about diving to see the sea creatures. Therefore, the two boys have cherished the idea of ​​one day going diving to see this unique whale species.

Tran Thanh Tam on a boat to the sea where you can dive to see humpback whales

Tam and Phuoc's journey from Ho Chi Minh City to Mauritius is more than 14,000 km with more than 19 hours of flight. "To save more money and fly shorter with the whole trip taking about 9 hours, you can fly from Ho Chi Minh City - Jakarta - Mauritius. When we arrived, we stayed around the Black River - Tamarin Beach area to prepare for the humpback whale photography trip", Tam shared.

The Mauritius Islander was also an oceanographer.

In Maritius, there are many giant whale species such as pilot whales (a black fish that lives in groups, moves very fast and is often mistaken for dolphins because of its appearance), sperm whales (a giant whale that lives in groups, can dive 800m deep to hunt giant squids). "And especially the humpback whale - the character in the blockbuster 'Avartar 2', the whale species known as the 'opera singers of the ocean'. They always have their own songs to attract mates and are also my favorite species since I was a child. Humpback whales have traveled more than 5,000 km to get here this season. They are also the most migratory whale species, able to swim 25,000 km every year," Tam excitedly said.

Humpback whale diving team on a trip out to sea

Thrilling whale diving and photography

The group began diving before dawn. In the cold ocean mist, they waited anxiously for the water columns to rise from the water surface along with the giant fins and tails. The boat drivers also equipped the guests with underwater sound recording equipment, so the two boys began to hear the songs of the whales known as "opera singers of the ocean", in addition to the sounds of sperm whales that often live here.

Mother and baby humpback whale appear

Until the water columns appeared from the sea surface, Tam and Phuoc tried to observe where the humpback whale was. But the boat driver - who is also an oceanographer - said that it was a pilot whale. "We continued to wait, tried to swim after it and filmed a short film of this species because they are quite shy due to their small body size, so when they see people, they swim away very quickly, making it very difficult to approach," Phuoc said.

Close-up of a humpback whale, Tran Thanh Tam's body is only as long as a fin

While the diving group was waiting for the humpback whales, a pod of five sperm whales suddenly swam straight towards them. "Seeing the uninvited guests, we were a bit confused, but following the instructions of the oceanographers, we swam slowly to avoid them because confronting them was not a wise thing to do," Tam humorously recounted.

In the middle of the ocean, the waves began to thicken, signs of giant whales appeared.

Tran Thanh Tam

In fact, although sperm whales are gentle, with the size of a bus, swimming close to sperm whales, just a slight "swish of the tail" can throw the entire diving team away. It was not until the second day of diving that Tam's group was able to see humpback whales.

At this point, the group must turn off the boat's engine and approach gently because if there is a loud noise, the fish will stop swimming or dive to 200m deep. When close enough and determine the direction of the fish's movement, the diving group, ready with cameras, swims about 50 - 100m closer to the school of fish.

Mother and baby humpback whale, photo taken from above

"In the deep blue water of the ocean, the depth of which we didn't know, the whales appeared more clearly, a mother and her child. It was the first time we saw a fish that was bigger than we could imagine. Although we had dived with many other creatures before, such as the giant Manta ray," Phuoc recalled.

To distinguish male and female fish the fastest way is to look at the scratches on their backs. Usually, female fish will not have any wounds, while male fish will have many wounds and scratches on their backs due to fighting with other male fish for the right to mate with female fish.

Le Huu Phuoc

The dive team then waited and filmed the mother and baby humpback whale again. On subsequent dives, they were also able to film the male whale.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/hanh-trinh-san-ca-voi-lung-gu-cua-hai-chang-trai-viet-tren-bien-thien-duong-185230804145447318.htm