Great close-up of a whale’s eye hides a much sadder story

Marine photographer and advocate Rachel Moore is fortunate to spend a lot of time swimming and interacting with whales and dolphins. On one particular day, she swam with a humpback whale she called “Sweet Girl” and took exceptionally detailed photos of the whale’s eye. Tragically, four days later, Sweet Girl was struck and killed by a speeding ship.

After a long, all-day trip that included swimming with a male whale, Moore almost didn’t go back into the water to swim. However, when she noticed a young whale playing with some spinner dolphins near the surface, she decided it was worth it, considering 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 go back into the water and swim again. I’m so glad we did this! That whale was Sweet Girl. As soon as we arrived, she came very close to us,” Moore told IFLScience.

While Moore and the whale remained together for some time, the photos of the eye were actually taken the next day.

“After missing the opportunity to catch her eye the first time we met, I knew I didn’t want to pass it up 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 this direct eye contact so that I could always feel the power of this encounter.”

A tip from a friend told Moore and the boat captain that Sweet Girl was probably nearby. It wasn’t long before Moore was back in the water and swimming with the whale.

“Sweet Girl came up to me and went straight through the water, rolling around 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 on the surface as she got even closer – just a few centimeters away. I held her gaze and zoomed in with my 16-35mm lens, trusting that the animal eye tracking was working. I pointed my camera at her eye, and just as she turned upside down, I pressed the shutter and captured the last bit of sunlight illuminating her eye.”

The photos were taken near the island of Moorea in French Polynesia. Sweet Girl was a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) – a species that stops near these islands to rest and give birth before its long journey to Antarctica.

Tragically, just four days after we met, Sweet Girl was struck and killed by a speeding ship.

Rachel Moore

Earlier this year, indigenous leaders came together to give the whales legal entity status to better protect them. However, the popularity of whale watching tours has led to increasing calls for further protective measures.

Unfortunately, Sweet Girl died in a boat attack just four days after Moore took the photo.

“Tragically, just four days after we met, Sweet Girl was struck and killed by a speeding ship, most likely a ferry traveling between Tahiti and Moorea. An investigation is ongoing to identify the vessel that struck the ship, and an organization is considering whether to press charges. “In French Polynesia, whales have been granted legal personhood status, which makes this case even more significant,” Moore said.

Since Sweet Girl’s death, a petition has been launched aimed at getting the government to reduce shipping speeds around the islands.

A report by the International Whaling Commission suggests that ship strikes are a growing problem for whale populations, while the Guardian reports that “the number of ships worldwide quadrupled between 1992 and 2012.”

As for whale deaths, they are extremely difficult to quantify, but reports suggest that an average of 20,000 deaths occur each year. Humpback whales are divided into subpopulations by the IUCN, which classify them as vulnerable in different regions.

For whales like Sweet Girl, Moore hopes the petition could lead to new laws and stricter enforcement.

“California has no laws requiring ships to slow down in shipping lanes, but strict recommendations suggest that ships travel at speeds of 10 knots or less in whale migration and feeding zones.” Most ships comply with these guidelines and many of the shipping companies operating in California also operate here. “The hope is to encourage these companies to implement similar speed reductions in French Polynesia,” Moore told IFLScience.

“If they can drive slower over a 200-mile (322-kilometer) route in California, they can certainly do the same over just a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) route here. By getting these major shipping lines and cruise lines to comply with these recommendations, we hope to put pressure on the government and local operators to make lasting changes.”