In which I meet the Leviathan

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slygecko
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In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by slygecko »

This past weekend I took a whale-watching trip out of Montauk, Long Island in the hopes of seeing some cool seabirds (we did - 3 species of shearwater, 2 new for me) and maybe some whales (we didn't). This post isn't about seabirds or whales. On the way back in towards shore after almost 6 hours at sea, with everyone feeling pretty burnt-out, us birders were still clinging to hope at the bow for some last chances at maybe a storm-petrel or jaeger. We spotted something odd surface dead ahead, and called out to the guides. The engines were cut and we angled to drift alongside the surfacing monstrosity...

What lurks below the surface ahead? Surely not another damn dolphin...
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Thar she blows! Wait that's not a mammal HOLY SH*! SEATURTLE ITS A LEATHERBACK!!! (approximate transcription of the pandemonium erupting on the bow deck)
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This enormous leviathan of a turtle floated calmly just off starboard as everyone aboard took 20 million photos, taking a few deep breaths before disappeared below the waves, never to be seen again. Just ten minutes later we spotted another, smaller individual at a greater distance, but it dove before we could approach closer. This is easily the coolest herp I've ever seen in the wild.
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justinm
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by justinm »

This is probably the coolest herp in the world! I have them at the highest spot on my list. Congrats for such a cool site.
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Andy Avram
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Andy Avram »

An all-time herp for me to see one day in the wild. And out at sea! Awesome.

Andy
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brick911
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by brick911 »

Wow. I doubt I'll ever see one of these in the wild.
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Dr. Dark
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Dr. Dark »

WOW! That is incredible! And those pics came out really nice...it just looks massive!
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Mike Pingleton
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Mike Pingleton »

thunderation! wow!
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Fundad
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Fundad »

So AWESOME..

You got some good photos too. I have had troubles getting a good picture like yours of sea turtles.

Congrats :thumb:
Fundad
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klawnskale
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by klawnskale »

That is terrific! What a gift Nature gave you! Aren't these critically endangered?
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Russ_Jones
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Russ_Jones »

A wicked sighting! I was fortunate to have observed them nesting in Trinidad, one particulalry large one had managed to flip itself onto its back while trying to climb a downed palm tree. It took 3 men and a long 2x6 to flip it back onto its belly. I have pics, I'll post them when I find em'! Great shots dude

Russ
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Tim Borski
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Tim Borski »

Wow, Those shots are awesome!! Congrats on a great and seldomly encountered animal. I've seen a half dozen or so over the years and all were well beyond sight of land...which made the encounters even more intruiging.
Thanks for sharing.
Tim
tai haku
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by tai haku »

Unbelievable. second time today someone from that pelagic trip has (to use birder terminology) gripped me off by posting shots of that turtle provoking insane jealousy. Corey - is that you??
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Warren
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Warren »

:thumb:
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slygecko
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by slygecko »

Thanks, all :)
tai haku wrote:Unbelievable. second time today someone from that pelagic trip has (to use birder terminology) gripped me off by posting shots of that turtle provoking insane jealousy. Corey - is that you??
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Nope, I'm the 'derelict with degree' Nick that joined him for this adventure.
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fins72
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by fins72 »

I've seen one nesting. Personally I think your experience was much cooler though. Awesome find/pics.
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Mike VanValen
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Mike VanValen »

Coolest, and often considered the largest, reptile in the world. Was it feeding on Jellyfish at the surface?
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Oh Brother
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Oh Brother »

NOT what I was expecting.

Oh Brother
Paul White
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Paul White »

wowowow. That's insane.
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chrish
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by chrish »

I agree with the others, the Leatherback must be one of the top 10 coolest herps in the world. Anyone can see one at a known nesting beach, but to find one at sea - WOW!

Throw in a few seabird photos and this would be the perfect post! :lol:
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slygecko
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by slygecko »

Mike VanValen wrote:Was it feeding on Jellyfish at the surface?
No, it dove out of sight, and we circled around looking for it. We did see one jellyfish on the surface. I want to say this was in 100-150ft of water.
chrish wrote:Throw in a few seabird photos and this would be the perfect post!
I haven't uploaded my other trip photos yet, but Corey's are better anyways:
http://10000birds.com/im-on-a-boat-pela ... ontauk.htm
John Williams
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by John Williams »

One of the best posts in the history of the forum. Thanks a lot and great photos (which were probably not that easy to get!).

John
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SnakeStick
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by SnakeStick »

That's awesome, what a sight. To think that these things can grow to weigh a ton. Beasttttt. I live in a hotspot for nesting Loggerheads, they are a spectacular sight but not near the size of these gargantuans.
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

What an awesome animal. Congratulations!
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crocdoc
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by crocdoc »

Way cool.

And as someone else said, not what I was expecting at all. When I started reading from the top I thought this was going to be a really off-topic post about whales and seabirds. In my world (with the exception of a couple of albatross species) 'cool seabird' is an oxymoron. Then I saw the photos of the leatherback. Way WAY cool
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Curtis Hart
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Curtis Hart »

I was on 4 Whale watch trips in the past week, with hopes of seeing one of those in the back of my mind. I'm glad someone did and got great pictures. I did see a heap of whales though, Northern Rights, Humpbacks, Minkes, Fins, and Belugas.
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TNWJackson
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by TNWJackson »

That is exceptionally cool, I'd love to see one of those guys. As for them being the largest reptile in the world, I'm pretty sure the largest indo-pacific crocodiles (over 1.2 metric tonnes) recorded would have to take that award, but that doesn't make leatherbacks any less awesome. I would guess they have the widest distribution of any reptile in the world though? Endothermy is a pretty cool trait for a reptile to possess too.
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by DIAMONDBACK DAVE »

Amazing, simply incredible!

DBD
will lattea
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by will lattea »

freakin awesome! I really like the last couple shots in particular. Just how big (roughly) was it?

-Will
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by mikemike »

Awesome.
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Christopher
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Christopher »

Great end to a boat trip!! Congrats, must have been awesome!
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Lloyd Heilbrunn »

I can't help but thinking how big of a plastic palm tree that guy would need. :crazyeyes:
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fpc40
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by fpc40 »

awesome encounter, leatherbacks are my favorite turtles by far and definitely on my list of herps to see before i die
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Curtis Hart
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Curtis Hart »

I have been coming back to this page several times a day since it's been up. I'm still in awe of the great pictures you got.
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slygecko
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by slygecko »

John Williams wrote:One of the best posts in the history of the forum. Thanks a lot and great photos (which were probably not that easy to get!)
:lol: All I did was stick my point-and-shoot through the railings and take a few snaps while trying not to be trampled by whale-watchers. It was hard to take pictures at all when all I wanted was to stare.
will lattea wrote:Just how big (roughly) was it?
I'm pretty sure I could've jumped on its back and ridden it around. I'm also pretty sure I could've ridden it into this battle and won.
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-EJ
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by -EJ »

You really gotta watch giving out the locality data...

While I've never seen one I heard they are relatively common on the south shore that far out on the Island.

The photos you got are fantastic... suggestion... make sure you back them up well.
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Dan Krull
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Dan Krull »

Phileas-

Jules Verne would be proud both of your adventure and the title of your post!


I went on two whale watching journeys off Massachusetts and only saw a few Minke whales. The next year I went on a fishing party boat and saw Minkes, 5 humpbacks, humpbacks breaching, basking sharks, puffins, shearwaters, storm petrels, and one possible blue whale. I too always kept the possibility of seeing a leatherback in the back of my mind, but I was not rewarded.

Very nice post. Thanks for sharing!

Dan

PS What locality data? I assume that was a joke? If so, funny. If not, dude, relax.
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-EJ
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by -EJ »

You can't get any more specific than Montauk... you gotta watch those unsavory poachers who's just going to collect and put the little thing in a tank...
(yea... it was an attempt at humor)
Herp Ninja wrote:Phileas-

Jules Verne would be proud both of your adventure and the title of your post!


I went on two whale watching journeys off Massachusetts and only saw a few Minke whales. The next year I went on a fishing party boat and saw Minkes, 5 humpbacks, humpbacks breaching, basking sharks, puffins, shearwaters, storm petrels, and one possible blue whale. I too always kept the possibility of seeing a leatherback in the back of my mind, but I was not rewarded.

Very nice post. Thanks for sharing!

Dan

PS What locality data? I assume that was a joke? If so, funny. If not, dude, relax.
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Dan Krull
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Dan Krull »

Phew! I hate texting/emails. It is so hard to make your intentions clear sometimes. :) After reading this post I began construction on a 10 million gallon tank to house my new leatherback. Now I just need to find a jellyfish supplier that won't gouge the hell out of me.

Dan
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Bill Love
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Bill Love »

Just had to add my congrats for a cool find. Nice shots too!
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Paul White »

Ninja: Contact me at 1-800-JELLY for the best price on jellyfish, drugs and more! We accept all major cards plus paypal. :lol:
I guess I'm right in assuming even zoos don't keep leatherbacks?
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by chris_mcmartin »

Bill Love wrote:Just had to add my congrats for a cool find. Nice shots too!
I am having nightmares of Bill Love's avatar talking very excitedly to me!

:lol:
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Berkeley Boone
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Berkeley Boone »

Very cool pics. I am extremely jealous.
Paul White wrote:I guess I'm right in assuming even zoos don't keep leatherbacks?
You are correct. One or two researchers have had moderate success (well, that's an overstatement. I would more appropriately term it 'luck'!) keeping a few juveniles in some crazy enclosures while they were being studied. They just cannot be kept in captivity. Unfortunately! I wish some of the aquariums could house them!
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Cole Grover
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Re: In which I meet the Leviathan

Post by Cole Grover »

Friggin' incredible! What an awesome thing to see.

-Cole
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