在海洋里畅游的座头鲸和海豚，美国夏威夷州 Humpback whales and dolphins, Hawaii (© drewsulockcreations/Getty Images)

在海洋里畅游的座头鲸和海豚，美国夏威夷州 Humpback whales and dolphins, Hawaii (© drewsulockcreations/Getty Images)

世界鲸鱼日快乐 Wishing you whale of a World Whale Day

Humpback whales and dolphins

As surely as some tourists return to Hawaii each and every year, thousands of humpback whale families, like the one seen in this photo, make an annual winter visit to the waters off Maui. They're the reason behind today's cetacean celebration: World Whale Day. While the observance honors whales of all kinds in all the world's oceans, it was here in Maui that the Pacific Whale Foundation first held the event and timed it to match the yearly return of the humpbacks.

These whales belong to one of at least four populations of humpbacks that live in the North Pacific. This group spends winters breeding and resting up in Hawaii's warm waters before making a summer migration to their feeding grounds in the chilly depths off Alaska. If you visit Hawaii during February, you'll have one of the best opportunities anywhere to spot these majestic marine mammals—and as we see here, maybe you'll spot a few dolphins too!

座头鲸和海豚

正如每年都有一些游客返回夏威夷一样，成千上万的座头鲸家庭，如图中所示，每年都会到毛伊岛附近的水域进行冬季访问。这就是今天鲸类庆祝活动的原因：世界鲸鱼日。当纪念仪式在世界上所有的海洋中都尊敬鲸鱼的时候，在毛伊岛这里，太平洋鲸鱼基金会首先举办了这个活动，并将它定为与驼背的年度回归相匹配。

这些鲸鱼属于生活在北太平洋的座头鲸至少四个种群之一。在夏季迁徙到阿拉斯加寒冷深处的觅食地之前，这群人会在夏威夷温暖的水域进行冬季繁殖和休息。如果你在二月份访问夏威夷，你将有机会在任何地方看到这些壮丽的海洋哺乳动物，正如我们在这里看到的，也许你也会看到一些海豚！