Acknowledgments

The “Foundation for Ocean Mammals” is a fictional organization, but heartfelt thanks go out to the Pacific Whale Foundation, which is a very real non-profit organization based on Maui dedicated to protecting the ocean and its animal life through science and advocacy. I have spent several glorious hours on PWF whale watches leaving from Maui, and the book Hawaii’s Humpback Whales, co-written by the organization’s founder, Gregory D. Kaufman, and Paul H. Forestell is my favorite go-to resource. A special shout-out goes to Michelle Trifari, former PWF intern (and also an Alaskan whale-watch guide!), who patiently answered my bizarre questions about life as a marine biologist, many of which I flung at her while she was trying to take humpback pictures from a moving boat. Thanks, Michelle! Any factual mistakes in this book are my own errors (i.e., don’t blame them. These people know their stuff!)