Sperm Whales Sighted Off Sister Islands

Just off the ''sister islands'' of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman is a deep body of water known as the Cayman Trench, the deepest part of the Caribbean Sea. As you might suspect, this is the territory for LARGE marine life, and those who know the areas close to the ''Trench'' are never amazed at what might show up unexpectedly on any dive or snorkel. And while diving on any wall, most divers will admit to giving more thana passing thought to just what is out there in the deep, deep, blue water.But even veterans of thousands of dives were amazed last month when REEF DIVERS' boats from both The Brac and Little Cayman reported seeing the water being churned up out in the middle of the channel. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an unusual numbers of large whales on the surface!The dive boat Little Sister went out to investigate, and both crew and visitors were able to get into the water (snorkeling) with a group of SPERM WHALES. Several different groups, in fact, ranging from three or four individuals to up to 10 or more! Even more unusual, the whales were literally standing on their heads (underwater of course), which is a classic part of whale courtship. So it's safe to say that even if we don't know why they chose this particular spot, we are pretty sure what they were doing. Sperm whales have the highest population of any of the great whales, but are seldom seen close to land, unlike Humpbacks, for example. The encounters were unbelievable, and research is now underway to see if this might be part of a seasonal migration and whether we might be able to plan on seeing them next year! Stay tuned for more info and pics in future issues of our electronic newsletter, and remember to keep an eye on the deep blue the next time you're enjoying any of our fabulous wall dives! For more information on diving the Sister Islands of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, click on the home page below.