Author and photographer Andrew Stevenson is to give two lectures updating on his research project into Humpback Whales which has uncovered remarkable new discoveries.

Both lectures will be illustrated – using underwater high-definition videos, videos taken above water and still photographs.

Mr. Stevenson has been carrying out his Humpback Whale and Research Project and with two 'whaling' seasons completed, he has not only obtained unique underwater footage of the humpbacks in Bermuda and the Caribbean, but also made some remarkable discoveries and hypotheses about the migratory behaviour of the North Atlantic humpback whales. The website www.whalesbermuda.com provides comprehensive details about the project, and its objectives and findings. He will discuss these discoveries and hypotheses during his illustrated lecture. Some of the surprising discoveries and hypotheses Mr. Stevenson will discuss and illustrate with his video footage include:

¦ Humpbacks travelling from their breeding grounds in the Caribbean to their feeding grounds up north are remaining for as much as a week on the Bermuda seamount

¦ Humpbacks are feeding off krill, copepods, spawning fish eggs and fish while they remain in Bermuda

¦ There may be more opportunistic feeding at, or around, the full moon

¦ Mothers are still feeding their calves beyond the first year, and probably until they migrate to the northern feeding grounds for the second time

¦ There are probably humpback whales (females too old and too young to breed) wintering on the mid-ocean seamounts such as Bermuda

¦ The reason the humpbacks are remaining on the mid-ocean seamounts is probably not so much related to opportunistic feeding, as gathering into large protective social units before running the gauntlet of Orcas up north. With 25 to 33 percent of North Atlantic humpback whales bearing Orca scars incurred when they were calves, the threat of an Orca attack is real

¦ Some 50 humpbacks identified in Bermuda through photographs of their flukes have been sighted in the Caribbean or the North Atlantic provinces of Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Norway

The event is being held at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute on November 13. Children and teachers are encouraged to attend the first lecture at 6.30 p.m. when they will be admitted free. Those interested should e-mail spout@logic.bm to reserve seats. The second lecture will begin at 8.30 p.m. for which tickets ($20) are obtainable from www.boxoffice.bm.