The blue whale is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 meters (98 ft) and weighing up to 199 tonnes, it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. Four subspecies are recognized: B. m. musculus in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia in the Southern Ocean, B. m. brevicauda in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, and B. m. indica in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is also a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies.
The island of Maui is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago, its second-largest at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of Maui County's five islands, along with Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Molokini.
Kihei is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 21,423 at the 2020 census.
Lahaina is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. On the northwest coast of the island of Maui, it encompasses Lahaina town and the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, Lahaina had a resident population of 12,702. The CDP spans the coast along Hawaii Route 30 from a tunnel at the south end, through Olowalu, and to the CDPs of Kaanapali and Napili-Honokowai to the north.
Mā'alaea is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 310 at the 2020 census. Mā‘alaea sits on the southern coast of the isthmus separating West Maui from the island’s Central Valley. Like other ahupua‘a, it widens as it descends from mountain slopes into the sea, occupying 5.4 square miles of land and 2.3 miles of ocean. For more than a millennium, Mā‘alaea has been a crossroads, a landing place for Hawaiian kings and armies, and in time, whalers and sailing ships. Highways follow the ancient trails that once branched north to Wailuku, west to Lahaina, and south to what are now the towns of Kīhei and Wailea. The name Mā‘alaea comes from the Hawaiian word ‘alae, the iron oxide from volcanic eruptions that gives the region its iron-rich red earth.
Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui Island, Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census.
Molokai is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles at its greatest length and width with a usable land area of 260 sq mi (673.40 km2), making it the fifth-largest in size of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies southeast of Oʻahu across the 25 mi (40 km) wide Kaʻiwi Channel and north of Lānaʻi, separated from it by the Kalohi Channel.
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual and is the only species in the genus Megaptera. Adults range in length from 14–17 m (46–56 ft) and weigh up to 40 metric tons. The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and tubercles on its head. It is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale watchers. Males produce a complex song typically lasting 4 to 33 minutes.
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity, but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes. A study prepared for International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2009 estimated that 13 million people went whale watching globally in 2008. Whale watching generates $2.1 billion per annum in tourism revenue worldwide, employing around 13,000 workers. The size and rapid growth of the industry has led to complex and continuing debates with the whaling industry about the best use of whales as a natural resource.
The southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20° and 60° south. In 2009 the global population was estimated to be approximately 13,600.
The false killer whale is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus Pseudorca. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly in tropical regions. It was first described in 1846 as a species of porpoise based on a skull, which was revised when the first carcasses were observed in 1861. The name "false killer whale" comes from having a skull similar to the orca, or killer whale.
The Cetacean Conservation Center is a Chilean NGO dedicated to the conservation of cetaceans and other marine mammals that inhabit the coastal waters of Chile. The CCC also engages in public education and information campaigns at the national and regional level.
Chiloé National Park is a national park of Chile, located in the western coast of Chiloé Island, in Los Lagos Region. It encompasses an area of 430.57 km2 (166 sq mi) divided into two main sectors: the smallest, called Chepu, is in the commune of Ancud, whereas the rest, called Anay, is in the communes of Dalcahue, Castro and Chonchi. The greater portion of the Park is in the foothills of Chilean Coastal Range, known as the Cordillera del Piuchén. It includes zones of dunes, Valdivian temperate rain forests, swamps, and peat bogs. A small portion, Metalqui, is an islet with an area of 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi). It is located between 42° 07' and 42° 13' south latitude and between 73° 55' and 74° 09' west longitude.
The Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR) was a government-funded project created to provide technology, methods, and information to decision-makers, resource managers, and the general public to help support effective science-based management of harmful non-native species (invasive species) in Hawaii and the Pacific Rim. Created in 1997, funding ended on 31 December 2012, and its website was last updated on 17 May 2013. One of the HEAR sub-websites, Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER), was maintained on a strictly volunteer basis for a few years, until a final update on 2 June 2018.
The Maui Academy of Performing Arts (MAPA) is a nonprofit theatre company that produces community theater and offers classes to children and young adults. Over the years, the mainstay of the Academy has been their drama, dance, and summer programs.
The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is one of the world's most important whale habitats, hosting thousands of humpbacks each winter.
The Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention (HPBC) is a group of churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention located in the U.S. state of Hawaii and other pacific regions. Headquartered in Honolulu, it is made up of 138 churches on 11 islands in 6 Baptist associations.
Lahaina Banyan Court Park is a public park in the town of Lahaina, Hawaii, The 1.94 acres (0.79 ha) park, also known as Lahaina Courthouse Square and commonly called Banyan Tree Park, contains multiple heritage sites. Located at the corner of Front Street and Canal Street, it is part of the Lahaina Historic Districts.
The Alfaguara project is a marine life conservation project operated from Puñihuil in the northwest of Chiloé Island, the main island in the Chiloé Archipelago in southern Chile.
