Researchers have recorded footage of two humpback whales copulating for the first time – but they also had a surprise: the footage involved two males.
The footage was recorded in January 2022 of the coast of Maui, Hawaii, but the results have only just been published in a paper in the journal Mammal Marine Science.
While humpback whales have been extensively researched for many years, their sexual behavior has remained mostly a mystery – until now.
Stephanie Stack, lead author of the paper and a whale researcher with the Pacific Whale Foundation, was contacted by two Maui-based photographers, Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano, for advice regarding an encounter that they had documented while boating recreationally, according to a blog on the Pacific Whale Foundation website. The photographs provide a never-seen-before glimpse into the private lives of humpback whales, who can measure up to 16 meters in length and weight up to 36 tons.
Krannichfeld and Romano saw two humpback whales approaching their boat. One whale was visibly thin and covered in whale lice and showed signs of injury and poor health. But the second, healthy, whale unexpectedly repeatedly approached the first whale, using its pectoral fins to hold the other whale in place, made shallow, brief penetrations.
The two whales circled the boat numerous times, enabling Krannichfeld and Romano to take pictures by holding their cameras over the side of the stationary vessel, which had its engine in neutral – it is illegal to swim with or approach humpback whales within 100 yards in Hawaii.
The health disparity between the two whales may have contributed to the observed behavior, the researchers added.
Although this is the first time it has been reported for humpback whales, homosexual behavior is common in the animal kingdom and well documented for many species of cetaceans such as dolphins and orcas.
