Poop!

The other day we were following two adult whales when we noticed one of them defecated. This is not something we see very often here because the whales are not typically feeding while they are on their breeding grounds. There simply is not enough food in the abundance that they find on their feeding grounds, so they have adapted to fasting while they are in the breeding areas. However, feeding has occasionally been observed in breeding areas. We have seen a mom feeding off northern Costa Rica and our boat captain described feeding behavior that he has seen near here. When given the opportunity, why not take a snack?

Collecting the fecal sample in a net

Close up of whale poop!