As a responsible author, I try to link as many of my published works as possible to worthy, non-profit, charitable organizations. "A Whale's Tale" (Savant 2009), the first in Savant's "Color-Me-Please" series, and the second in my own "Pacific Rim Naturalist-Explorer" series, helps support two charitable efforts:  my "Ocean of Whales" project, and my "Ocean Awareness" project.

The "Ocean of Whales" is an international project to help heighten public awareness of the importance of whales on planet earth. Having had the good fortune of living in Alaska, California and now Hawaii near coastal waters, this project focuses in particular on Hawaiian Humpback whales which visit all three areas, including Mexico during their annual north-south migration.

The "Ocean Awareness" is an international project to help heighten public awareness of the importance of oceans and their inhabitants, focusing, in particular, on the Pacfic Ocean. Having had the good fortune of living in Alaska, Calfornia and now Hawaii always near the Pacific Ocean, and having served as a naturalist interpreter for some of Hawaii's most beautiful coastal areas, I regard "mother ocean" awareness as high on my personal list of planetary activity priorities.

The following activities and resources are offered free to interested readers, parents, educators and professionals.

Activity 1: Join the Great "A Whale's Tale" Book Migration:

Take a photo of yourself holding "A Whale's Tale" against a local or regional landmark and send the photo to me at
drjanikXgmail.com
(replace "X" with "@")

and I'll include it below on this website! See all the places "A Whale's Tale" has visited on it's world-wide
"migration." How many places do you recognize?


Activity 2: Help refill the Oceans with Hawaiian Humpback Whales"

Choose any or all of the three of the below "Color-Me-Please" images, click on it to download it, print it, color it, fancy up your whale if you like (e.g. glitter, ribbons, bows), and mail it to me at

Daniel S. Janik
2630 Kapiolani Blvd #1601
Honolulu, HI 96826 USA

and I'll add your whale to thousands of others from all over the world that will be part of our "Ocean of Whales" and "Ocean Awareness" displays traveling to different locations throughout the world. Help repopulate our oceans with whales and encourage ocean awareness! Would you like the to have an "Ocean of Whales" or an "Ocean Awareness" display for a not-for-profit public activity? Email your request for a particular number of colored whales at least 3 weeks in advance to

drjanikXgmail.com
(replace "X" with "@")

and I'll mail you a packet of that number of whales to any USA address at my expense including a postage-paid return envelope. In 1994, I sponsored a similar project for clean water with over two hundred colored o'opu fish creating a "River of Fish" at Honolulu Hale (see below).
OceanOfWhales.pdf OceanOfWhales.pdf
Size : 92.126 Kb
Type : pdf
1-AdultFemale.pdf 1-AdultFemale.pdf
Size : 230.691 Kb
Type : pdf
2-ChildWhales.pdf 2-ChildWhales.pdf
Size : 274.208 Kb
Type : pdf
3-AdultMales.pdf 3-AdultMales.pdf
Size : 364.488 Kb
Type : pdf

Activity 3: Watch and Study Whale Behaviors:


Whales, like people, have to learn a lot of basic behaviors. Adults teach the calves (children whales) many of these behaviors before and during migration. Go on the internet to "YouTube.com," look at whale videos, and see if you can identify some basic whale behaviors.

Some I've seen right off of Oahu between November and April while the Hawaiian Humpback Whales are here having their babies and teaching them basic behaviors are:
     - spouting (breathing);
     - peeking just above the water to see what's going on above;
     - jumping straight up;
     - slapping the water with a fin (fluke);
     - diving straight down and showing a tail;
     - jumping up and falling on the side to make a big spash.
   
Each of these behaviors is important for whales to keep together, locate food, and eat during their migration.

If you need somewhere to start, here's one of my personal favorite whale behavior clips:

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