02-23-2014, 03:40 AM
I'm no marine biologist, but I think those are whales. We get them off of Kaloli Point and this year, in contrast to last year, they have been really noisy. I think you described their sound better than I can. It is a very loud sound, as I can hear it at 400 feet from the cliff, plus however far out they are. They groan loudly and then slap their tails on the water. For me it always calls to mind the film (is that a dated word now that films are digital?) Jurassic Park. I think I read somewhere that they mixed certain animal noises together to create the sound for the dinosaurs and that the whale was among them. I keep trying to capture that noise for a mainland friend but I go running to the cliff and all is silent, except for some muffled guffaws along with some tittering from their mermaid friends. As soon as I reach the door of the house, they call again. If I ever begin to understand what they are saying, I am moving back to the mainland.