FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 83. NO. 3 



right whales (Payne 1972). Both involved lifting the 

 object with the head, moving the object along the 

 back, and patting it with the flippers. Two log-play- 

 ing bowheads attempted to push the log under water 

 with the head. This action was reminiscent of a 

 motion commonly made by male right whales when 

 attempting to mate with uncooperative females 

 (Payne, pers. obs.). 



CALF PLAY. -On two occasions in 1982, lone 

 calves at the surface interacted with debris in the 

 water, and the actions had the appearance of play. 



The first incident occurred over 12.3 min on 19 

 August 1982, when a lone young-of-the-year calf 

 followed a line of surface debris ■^ 2 m wide, prob- 

 ably composed mainly of invertebrates. The calf 

 stayed at or just below the surface and oriented 

 directly along the windrow, changing course as the 

 line meandered left or right. Although the calf ap- 

 peared to have its mouth open slightly for brief 

 periods, it did not appear to feed extensively, if at all. 

 However, its movements thoroughly disrupted and 

 dispersed the line of debris. The movements were 

 rapid and jerky, reminiscent of any uncoordinated 

 young mammal. The calf lunged forward while in the 

 debris on three occasions, and slapped its tail onto 

 the water surface twice. For -^ 30 s, it moved rapidly 

 along the line, ventrum up, with rapid up-and-down 

 movements of the tail for the entire time. The se- 

 quence ended when the calf dove out of sight at the 

 end of the windrow; we did not see it with an adult. 

 Although the incident did not seem to represent con- 

 certed feeding, this "play" by the calf may have been 

 practice in skills required for feeding. 



A second incident of "calf play" occurred on 23 

 August 1982. This calf was first encountered hang- 

 ing quietly just below the surface, or moving forward 

 very slowly. During slow movement, it entered an 

 area marked by dispersed fluorescein dye from one 

 of our dye markers (see section on Methods). The dye 

 covered an area about 40 m by 100 m. Immediately 

 upon entering the area of bright green water, the 

 calf became active. During the 22.3 min of associa- 

 tion with the dye, the calf rolled ventrum up eight 

 times for 5-20 s each time, and moved back and forth 

 within, and to the edge of, the dye-clear water inter- 

 face. Although not as active and not beating its tail 

 as fast as the calf in the windrow, this calf made 

 abrupt turns of > 90° on 25 occasions during its stay 

 in the dye, reorienting itself at the dye's edge in 

 order to remain within the dye. The calf ultimately 

 moved out of the dye and oriented toward an ap- 

 proaching adult. When the two joined, the calf ap- 

 parently began nursing. 



Synchrony of Activity and Orientations 



There was often an impressive degree of syn- 

 chrony of basic behaviors among members of quite 

 widely spaced groups. We observed apparent syn- 

 chronization of behaviors on time scales ranging 

 from seconds to days. 



Synchrony in General Activity 



During 1980, we found that all or most bowheads 

 in various areas did the same thing for up to several 

 days. Some days later, the whales had usually 

 moved, and whales were then found elsewhere 

 engaged in different activities. For example, on 3 

 and 5 August 1980, whales north and east of Issung- 

 nak artificial island were mainly engaged in water- 

 column feeding, with frequent defecation. By 6 and 7 

 August, whales in this area shifted to more surface- 

 active behavior, interacting in groups with pushes 

 and apparent chases. We saw little defecation at this 

 time. On 12 August, at least 15 animals about 30-40 

 km west of this area were all apparently bottom 

 feeding. 



Whales were encountered in two additional areas 

 in 1980: east of Pullen Island (19 and 20 August) and 

 just west of McKinley Bay (19-22 August). In the 

 Pullen Island area, all whales were mud tracking as 

 described above. In the second area, mud also was 

 evident, but there was much less underwater blow- 

 ing. Some animals had mouths open at the surface. 

 On 22 and 23 August 1980 almost all whales we en- 

 countered were skim feeding in groups of 10-30 

 animals north of McKinley Bay. However, in the 

 Issungnak area farther west, substantial numbers of 

 whales were still water-column feeding. On 27, 29, 

 and 31 August 1980, whales interacted in small 

 groups of 2-5 individuals. Some small groups oriented 

 SSW, perhaps indicating the beginning of migration. 



In summary, during 1980 (but not 1981 or 1982) 

 we found that whales in various areas did much the 

 same thing for up to '^ 5 d, but then shifted location, 

 activity, or both. A partial explanation for the syn- 

 chrony of behavior seen in 1980 may be that whales 

 moved to exploit new food resources, and that the 

 most appropriate feeding mode changed according to 

 site-specific conditions. In the subsequent 2 yr, it ap- 

 peared that whales were doing more water-column 

 feeding in deeper water, perhaps because of a more 

 consistent food supply. 



Synchrony in Dives and Surfacings 

 We sometimes had the impression that all whales 



370 



