Ocean photographer and advocate Rachel Moore is fortunate enough to spend a lot of time swimming and interacting with whales and dolphins. On one particular day, she swam with a humpback whale she’s nicknamed Sweet Girl, capturing extraordinarily detailed photographs of the whale’s eye. Tragically, four days later Sweet Girl was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship.
After a long full-day tour, including swimming with a male whale, Moore nearly didn’t enter the water to swim for a second time. However, after noticing a juvenile whale playing with some spinner dolphins near the surface, she decided it was worth it, given how curious the whale seemed to be.
The way she looked at me left an indelible mark on my memory – it was one of the most powerful and profound moments of my life.
Rachel Moore
“She seemed very curious, so we decided to get back in the water for one more swim. I’m so glad we did! That whale was Sweet Girl. As soon as we got in, she approached us very closely,” Moore told IFLScience.
While Moore and the whale stayed together for some time, the photographs of the eye were actually captured the following day.
“After missing the opportunity to capture her eye on our first encounter, I knew I didn’t want to miss it the second time. The way she looked at me left an indelible mark on my memory – it was one of the most powerful and profound moments of my life. I wanted to capture that direct eye contact so I could always feel the power of that encounter.”
A tip-off from a friend told Moore and the boat’s captain that Sweet Girl was likely nearby. It didn’t take Moore long to be back in the water swimming with the whale.
“Sweet Girl approached me and went vertical in the water, rolling and showing me each eye. This time, I didn’t swim away. I knew I could trust her, and she could trust me,” she told IFLScience. “For the next five minutes, we stayed eye-to-eye at the surface, with her coming even closer – just inches away. I held her gaze and zoomed in with my 16-35mm lens, trusting the animal-eye tracking to work. I pointed my camera toward her eye, and just as she rolled upside down, I pressed the shutter, capturing the last bit of sunlight illuminating her eye.”
Some humpback whales can live for 90 years, sadly Sweet Girl didn’t get her full lifespan.
Image Courtesy of Rachel Moore
The photographs were taken near the island of Mo’orea, in French Polynesia. Sweet Girl was a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) – a species that stops near these islands to rest and give birth, before their long journey to Antarctica.
Tragically, Sweet Girl was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship […] just four days after our encounter.
Rachel Moore
Earlier this year, Indigenous leaders came together to grant whales legal personhood status to better protect them. However, there have been more calls for further protections due to the popularity of whale-watching tours.
Unfortunately just four days after Moore took the photograph, Sweet Girl was killed in a boat strike.
“Tragically, Sweet Girl was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship, most likely a ferry transiting between Tahiti and Mo’orea, just four days after our encounter. There is still an ongoing investigation to identify the ship that struck her, and one organization is looking into pressing charges. In French Polynesia, whales have been granted the legal status of personhood, which makes this case even more significant,” said Moore.
Since Sweet Girl’s death, a petition has been launched aiming to get the government to reduce ship speeds around the islands.
A report by the International Whaling Commission has suggested that ship strikes are an increasing problem for whale populations, while the Guardian reports that “worldwide ship numbers quadrupled between 1992 and 2012”.
As for whale deaths, they are extremely hard to quantify but reports suggest an average of 20,000 deaths per year. Humpback whales are separated into subpopulations by the IUCN, which lists them as Endangered in different regions.
For whales like Sweet Girl, Moore hopes the petition could bring new legislation and stricter enforcement.
“In California, there are no laws requiring ships to slow down in shipping lanes, but strong recommendations suggest vessels transit at 10 knots or less in whale migration and feeding zones. Most vessels comply with these guidelines, and many of the shipping companies that operate in California also operate here. The hope is to encourage these companies to adopt similar speed reductions in French Polynesia,” Moore told IFLScience.
“If they can slow down for 200 miles [322 kilometers] in California, surely they can do the same for just 2 kilometers [1.2 miles] here. By getting these large shipping companies and cruise ships to comply with these recommendations, we hope to put pressure on the government and local operators to make lasting changes.”
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