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Fascinating Facts about Humpback Whales
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Read some fascinating facts about the Humpback Whales in our oceans in our latest marine life blogs. Or you can find out more about the eco side of plastic on your liveaboard cruises. Click here to read about how to reduce plastic on your next liveaboard by clicking here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Humpback Whales - Megaptera novaeangliae
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Humpback whales are marine giants that are known for the songs that can be heard from a 30km distance. They migrate huge distances with known routes that mean that sightings can be predicted quite accurately.
The summer months they are around Alaska, and for the winter months, they migrate towards the equator and the warmer waters. Destinations such as Hawaii, Dominican Republic, Africa and South America. They migrate further than any other mammal on earth. An exception is the Arabian Sea humpbacks that stay year round for mating and feeding.
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They are social and travel in pods of 2 or 3 continually communicating. A mother even touches fins with her calves as a sign of endearment.
During the migration, these powerful swimmers use the tail fin to leap out of the water and land with a large splash. This is thought to aid in cleaning parasites from their skin. The slapping of the tail is believed to be another form of communication.
The humpback whales can reach 18m in length and weigh 40 tons. The flippers reaching 5m, (the longest of any whale) and tails are up to 5.5m wide. A humpbacks dorsal fin and fluke (tail) are unique to each whale, and this has aided in monitoring individuals during migrations and behaviour patterns. The heads have tubercles, which are mounds, each with a stiff hair inside that is thought to be motion sensors.
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Whale Song
The male whale songs can last for hours, and although not confirmed or deciphered scientists think it is for potentially attracting mates. Every whale sings the same song, and it can be repeated several times. These songs vary regionally and change slightly year on year.
Also, it has been found that the level of the sound varies, during calving, for instance, the sound level is reduced at the feeding grounds. The young ones make quiet ‘whale whispers’ thought to be communication between the mothers and calves while not alerting killer whales.
The sound they make is produced by air being pushed through the blowhole rather than vocal cords as they do not have these.
There is also a whale cry that can be heard when these amazing mammals lose a family member, feel lonely or are sad. There are more moans or whines than the whale song.
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Diet
The humpback whales are baleens, so they have no teeth only bristly plates, and the food is swollen whole. They eat small fish and krill, and the diet also includes salmon, herring and mackerel.
They use their tails, noise and circling of the prey blowing bubbles to corral, stun and immobilise the fish. Then gulping them into the mouths where the bristles separate the water and prey. The water is then expelled via the two blowholes, and they swallow the prey.
During the feeding season, they store blubber as a food reserve for the long migration and breeding season. It is rare that they eat during mating.
Once the mating season has ended the whales, travel with the calves so they can feed and prepare for the next mating season. Often the mature whales lead the way for the younger ones to follow in the correct direction.
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Reproduction
The females have calves every 2 to 3 years, the gestation period is 11 to 12 months. The calves are born live at about 3 to 4m in length weighing about a 900kg. They nurse their young for around one year with the calves drinking up to 600litres of milk per day. It takes around ten years for the calves to mature and the lifespan is approximately 50 years. The calves are born in the same warmer waters where the mating takes place, and they are nurtured on the migration back to the feeding grounds.
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The Humpback population is around 60 to 80,000 worldwide, so is recovering from the excessive hunting and commercial whaling that devastated the population. Up to 90% of the population was eliminated. They are no longer on the endangered list but still have several threats to their survival, mostly from humans. These include noise pollution, which affects their sonar, water pollution, boat traffic and overfishing. Commercial whaling is now prohibited, but some countries still kill a large number of whales for scientific purposes.
The only natural predator they have are the killer whales, but successful attacks are rare.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Images were provided by the Aggressor Fleet and Socorro Adventures[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]