Humpback Whales

HUMPBACK WHALE Megaptera novaeangliae

DESCRIPTION: The humpback whale, which is a mammal, was given its name because of the way its back arches out of the water when it starts a deep dive.
Its scientific name, Megaptera, means "large-winged" and refers to its long, white wing-like flippers that are such an attraction here on Maui.

Humpbacks are very dark colored whales, except for the flippers, parts of the chest and belly, and the underside of the tail flukes.
Each whale has its own unique pattern of white on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used as "fingerprints" in identifying individual whales.
A feature unique to humpbacks are wart-like round bumps, called tubercles (they are individual hair follicles), that occur on the head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of the flippers.

Northern hemisphere humpbacks reach an average length of 45-52 feet, and southern humpbacks reach 60 feet.
The average weight for a mature adult is 35-40 tons.

RANGE/HABITAT: Humpbacks are found in all oceans.
They follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter, where they give birth.
There seem to be three distinct, isolated populations: North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Southern Hemisphere.
If you visit Maui from late December to March you are sure to see the babies enjoying the warm waters before their long trek North to their summer feeding grounds in Alaska.

An highly social whale, humpbacks regularly breach (jump out of the water), stroke each other, and slap the water with their flippers and flukes.
The reason for these behaviors is unknown, however, scientists believe these activities are forms of communication, because they create a great deal of noise, which can be heard at long distances underwater. They can often be seen feeding together in the summer months off the Alaskan coastline.

Humpbacks are baleen (a filter in their mouths) whales that have 14-35 long throat pleats that expand when the whale takes in water while feeding.
They use baleen plates to strain krill, herring, other small fish, and plankton out of the water.

The 270-400 baleen plates are, dark and about two and a half feet long.
You can see samples of baleen when you visit the Carthaginian II in Lahaina. This restored whaling vessel is a favorite among visitors. Several feeding methods are used by humpbacks.
Remember that you will not see this behavior here in Hawaii.
Whales do not eat while they are here.
While "lunge feeding," they plow through concentrated areas of food with their huge mouths open, swelling with large quantities of food and water.

During "bubble net feeding", which is unique to humpback whales, one or several whales blow a ring of bubbles from their blowholes that encircle a school of krill or fish.
The whales then swim through the middle of the "net" with their mouths agape, taking in large amounts of food.
This is another example of the cooperation shown by these magnificent animals

Humpback Whale Song Humpbacks are best known for their haunting vocalizations or "singing," which you may hear while you visit Maui.
They have a rich repertoire that covers many octaves and includes frequencies beyond the threshold of human hearing.

These songs, apparently sung by males, last as long as 20 minutes, after which they are repeated, often with slight changes.
When a whale is singing, it floats suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless.
Behavior such as dominance, aggression, and mate attraction may be related to singing.
Listen carefully while you are snorkeling or diving.
You can here these beautiful songs for miles.

Humpbacks are believed to be among the most endangered of the whales.
Fewer than 10% of their original population remains.
It is amazing to think that Lahaina, one of the whale fishing capitals is now one of the leading protection sites in the world.
We have come a long way from the days when we sought whales for financial value, instead of for the real value they give us by sharing themselves.

Probably the most famous humpback whale is "Humphrey," who was rescued twice by The Marine Mammal Center and other concerned groups.
One rescue was in 1985, when he swam into San Francisco Bay and then up the Sacramento River.
Five years later, Humphrey returned and became stuck on a mud-flat in San Francisco Bay near 3 COM Park.
He was pulled off the mud-flat and into the water with a large cargo net and the help of a Coast Guard boat.

Both times he was successfully guided back to the Pacific Ocean using a "sound net" in which people in a flotilla of boats made unpleasant noises behind the whale by banging on steel pipes.
At the same time, the attractive sounds of humpback whales preparing to feed were broadcast from a boat headed towards the open ocean.
Since leaving the San Francisco Bay in 1990 Humphrey has not been seen.

 

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