Scientific Name: Megaptera novaeangliae
IUCN Red List: Least Concern
Height: 12 – 16m (39 – 52 ft)
13 – 14m (43 – 46 ft) – fully grown males
15 – 16m (49 – 52 ft) – fully grown females
Weight: 25 – 30 t (28 – 33 short tons)
27 metric tons – adult males
24.8 – 40.8 tons – adult females
Description: The humpback whales have a distinctive body shape, long
pectoral fins and a knobbly head. Humpbacks can easily be identified by
their stocky body, obvious hump, black dorsal colouring and elongated
pectoral fins. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs
called tubercles, which are hair follicles and are characteristic of the
species. The fluked tail, which typically rises above the surface when
diving, has wavy trailing edges. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly
coloured baleen plates on each side of their mouths. The plates
measure from 18 in (46 cm) in the front to about 3 ft (0.91 m) in the
back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to
the umbilicus, about halfway along the underside of the body. These
grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals, but
are fairly wide.
Life span: ̛̛45 – 100 years
Family: Balaenopteridae
- Humpback whales are rorquals.
- The humpback whale is the sole member of the genus.
- One large recorded specimen was 19 m (62 ft) long and had pectoral
fins measuring 6 m (20 ft) each. - The largest humpback on record, according to whaling records, was a
female killed in the Caribbean; she was 27 m (89 ft) long with a weight
of 90 metric tons (99 short tons). - The largest measured by the scientists of the Discovery Committee
were a female and a male at 14.9 and 14.75 m (48.9 and 48.4 ft)
respectively. - The long black and white tail fin can be a third of the body length.
- The humpback’s pectoral fins are proportionally the longest fin of any
cetacean. - These very long heavy pectoral fins with a row of knuckle -like knobs
along their anterior edges are effective weapons in confrontations
with killer whales. - The large, sharp-cornered barnacle Coronula Diadema often attaches
there, adding a natural equivalent of knuckledusters.
- Humpbacks occasionally defend other animals against attack by
predators; for example, they were observed interfering to defend
a Gray whale calf that had just been killed by killer whales. - The varying patterns on the tail flukes distinguish individual animals.
- Identification is done by comparing the amount of white vs black and
scars on the tail fluke.
- The humpback whales are then given a catalogue number.
- Courtship rituals take place during the winter months.
- Competition is usually fierce.
- Males gather into competitive groups around a female and fight for the
right to mate with her. - Group size recedes and flows as the unsuccessful males retreat and
others arrive. - Behaviors include breaching, spy-hopping, lob-tailing, tail-slapping,
pectoral fin-slapping, peduncle throws, charging and parrying.
- Humpbacks whales polyandrous, with a female having multiple male
partners over the course of her lifespan. - Females typically breed every two or three years.
- The gestation period is 11.5 months.
- The peak months for birth are January and February in the Northern
Hemisphere, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere. - Females wait for one to two years before breeding again.
- Recent research on mitochondrial DNA reveals that groups living in
proximity to each other may represent distinct breeding pools. - Humpback whale births have been rarely observed.
- One birth witnessed off Madagascar occurred within four minutes.
- Humpback whales have been known to hybridize with other rorquals;
there is a well-documented report of a humpback-blue whale hybrid in
the South Pacific.
- Humpbacks are friendly species that interact with other cetaceans
such as bottlenose dolphins. - Right whales interact with humpbacks.
- These behaviors have been recorded in all oceans.
- Humpbacks whales have been found in mixed groups with other
species such as the blue, fin, minke, gray and sperm whales. - Interaction with Gray, fin, and right whales have been observed.
- Teams of researchers observed a male humpback whale singing an
unknown type of song and approaching a fin whale at Rarotonga in
2014. - One individual was observed playing with a bottlenose
dolphin in Hawaiian waters. - Incidents of humpback whales protecting other animals such as seals
and other whales from killer whales have been documented and
filmed. - Studies of such incidents indicate that the phenomenon is species-
wide and global, with incidents being recorded at various locations
across the world. - In September 2017 in Rarotonga, the Cook Islands, snorkeler and
whale biologist Nan Hauser reported that two adult humpback whales
had protected her from a 4.5 m (15 ft) tiger shark, with one whale
pushing her away from the shark while the other used its tail to block
the shark's advances. - Both male and female humpback whales vocalize, but only males
produce the long, loud, complex "song" for which the species is
famous. - Each song consists of several sounds like low register, varying in
amplitude and frequency and typically lasting for 10 to 20 minutes. - Individuals may sing continuously for more than 24 hours.
- Cetaceans have no vocal cords, instead, they produce sound via a
larynx-like structure found in the throat, the mechanism of which has
not been clearly identified. - Whales do not have to exhale to produce sound.
- Whales within a population sing a single song.
- All North Atlantic humpbacks sing the same song, while those of the
North Pacific sing a different song. - Each population's song changes slowly over a period of years without
repeating. - The songs are culturally transmitted, and have been shown in some
cases to spread "horizontally" between neighbouring populations over
the course of successive breeding seasons.
- Only males sing, suggesting one purpose is to attract females or to
induce oestrus in the females. - However, many of the whales observed to approach a singer are other
males, often resulting in conflict. - Singing may, therefore, be a challenge to other males.
- Some scientists have hypothesized the song may serve an echo
locative function. - During the feeding season, humpbacks make unrelated vocalizations
for herding fish into their bubble nets.
- Humpback whales make other sounds to communicate, such as
grunts, groans, snorts and barks. - Whales are air-breathing mammals who must surface to get the air
they need. - The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow (exhalation) when
the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. - Humpbacks have a 3 m (9.8 ft), heart-shaped bushy blow through the
blowholes. - They do not generally sleep at the surface, but they must continue to
breathe. - Possibly only half of their brain sleeps at one time, with one half
managing the surface-blow-dive process without awakening the other
half. - Humpbacks inhabit all major oceans, in a wide band running from the
Antarctic ice edge to 81 o N latitude. - The four global populations are North Pacific, Atlantic, Southern
Ocean and Indian Ocean populations. - These populations are distinct.
- Whales were once uncommon in the Mediterranean and the Baltic
seas, but have increased their presence in both waters as global
populations have recovered. - Recent increases within the Mediterranean basin, including re-
sightings, indicate that more whales may migrate into the inland sea in
the future, not only for wintering but also for feeding. - Humpbacks are also showing signs of re-expanding into former
ranges, such as Scotland, Skagerrak and Kattegat as well
as Scandinavian fjords such as kvænangen, where they had not been
observed for decades. - Breeding occurs in the Caribbean and Cape Verde.
- Whales again migrate off Japanese archipelagos and into the Sea of
Japan. - Connections between these stocks and whales seen in the Sea of
Okhotsk, on Kamchatka coasts and around the Commander
islands have been studied. - One of the first documented sightings within the Yellow Sea was of a
group of 3 or 4 individuals, including a cow/calf pair in Changhai
County in October, 2015. - Within the Arabian Sea, Masirah Island and Gulf of Masirah,
Hallaniyat Islands, Kuria Muria Bay are the hot spots of this species. - Whales were historically common in continental and marginal waters
such as the Hallaniyat Islands, along Indian coasts, Persian
Gulf and Gulf of Aden, and recent migrations into the gulf including by
cow-calf pairs. - It is unknown whether whales seen in the Red Sea originate in this
population, however sightings increased since in 2006 even in the
northern part of the sea such as in Gulf of Aqaba. - Individuals may reach the Maldives, Sri Lanka, or further east.
- Humpbacks have been considered rather vagrant into Persian Gulf,
however new studies indicate more regular presences can be
expected. - Humpbacks feed primarily in summer and live off fat reserves during
winter. - They feed only rarely and opportunistically in their wintering waters.
- The humpback is an energetic hunter, taking krill and small schooling
fish such as juvenile Atlantic and Pacific
salmon, herring, capelin and American sand lance, as well as Atlantic
mackerel, pollock, haddock and Atlantic menhaden in the North
Atlantic. - They have been documented opportunistically feeding near fish
hatcheries in Southeast Alaska, feasting on salmon fry released from
the hatcheries. - Krill and copepods are prey species in Australian and Antarctic
waters. - The humpback whale has the most diverse hunting range of all baleen
whales. - Its most inventive technique is known as bubble net feeding; a group
of whales dive up to 20 m (66 ft) below the surface and swim in a
shrinking circle blowing air from their blowholes creating vertical
cylinder-ring of bubbles that captures the prey above them.
- Humpbacks use two main behaviours to create bubble-netting;
upward spirals and double loops. - Upward spirals involve the whales blowing continuously as they circle
towards the surface, creating a spiral of bubble. - Double loops consist of a deep, long loop that corrals the prey
followed by tail slaps (lobtailing) at the surface and then a smaller loop
that serves to make the final capture of the prey. - After the nets are created, humpbacks swimming into them with their
mouth gaping and ready to shallow. - Killer whales (orcas) are the predators of humpback whales.
- Humpback whales can be attacked or killed by the orcas.
- Humpback whales will defend against or attack killer whales who are
attacking either humpback calves or juveniles as well as members of
other species. - The Great White Shark is another confirmed predator of the
humpback whale. - A second incident regarding great white sharks killing humpback
whales was documented off the coast of South Africa. - The shark recorded instigating the attack was a female nicknamed
“Helen”. - Working alone, the shark attacked a 33 ft (10 m) emaciated and
entangled humpback whale by attacking the whale's tail to cripple and
bleed the whale before she managed to drown the whale by biting
onto its head and pulling it underwater. - The attack was witnessed via aerial drone by marine biologist Ryan
Johnson, who said the attack went on for roughly 50 minutes before
the shark successfully killed the whale. - Johnson further suggested that the shark may have strategized its
attack in order to kill such a large animal, and may have had previous
experience in attacking such large cetaceans. - Humpback whales were hunted as early as the 18th century.
- By the 19th century, many nations (particularly the United States)
were hunting the animal heavily in the Atlantic Ocean and to a lesser
extent in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. - The late-19th-century introduction of the explosive harpoon allowed
whalers to accelerate their take. - This, along with hunting in the Antarctic Ocean beginning in 1904,
sharply reduced whale populations. - During the 20th century, over 200,000 humpbacks were taken,
reducing the global population by over 90%. - North Atlantic populations dropped to as low as 700 individuals.
- In 1946, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was founded to
oversee the industry. - They imposed hunting regulations and created hunting seasons.
- To prevent extinction, IWC banned commercial humpback whaling in
1966. - By then, the global population had been reduced to around 5,000. The
ban has remained in force since 1966. - The hunts use harpoons for dolphin hunts or intentionally drive whales
into nets, reporting them as cases of entanglement. - Humpback meat can be found in markets.
- In one case, humpbacks of unknown quantities were illegally hunted in
the Exclusive Economic Zones of anti-whaling nations such as
off Mexico and South Africa. - Whale watching is the leisure activity of observing humpbacks in the
wild. - Participants watch from shore or on touring boats.
- Humpbacks are generally curious about nearby objects.
- Some individuals, referred to as “friendlies”, approach whale-watching
boats closely, often staying under or near the boat for many minutes. - Because humpbacks are typically easily approachable, curious,
identifiable as individuals and display many behaviours, they have
become the mainstay of whale tourism around the world.
- In December 1883, a male humpback swam up the Firth of Tay in
Scotland, past what was then the whaling port of Dundee. - Harpooned during a failed hunt, it was found dead off of Stonehaven a
week later. - Its carcass was exhibited to the public by a local entrepreneur, John
Woods, both locally and then as a touring exhibition that travelled
to Edinburgh and London. - The whale was dissected by Professor John Struthers, who wrote
seven papers on its anatomy and an 1889 monograph on the
humpback.
- First sighted in 1991, the whale was named for an indigenous
Australian word for “white fella”. - To prevent sightseers approaching dangerously close, the
Queensland government decreed a 500-m (1600-ft) exclusion zone
around him. - In 1985, Humphrey the humpback whale, swam into San Francisco
Bay and then up the Sacramento River towards Rio Vista. - Five years later, Humphrey returned and became stuck on
a mudflat in San Francisco Bay immediately north of Sierra
Point below the view of onlookers from the upper floors of the Dakin
Building. - He was twice rescued by the Marine Mammal Centre and other
concerned groups in California. - He was pulled off the mudflat with a large cargo net and the help of
the US Coast Guard. - Both times, he was successfully guided back to the Pacific Ocean
using a “sound net”in which people in a flotilla of boats madeunpleasant noises behind the whale by banging on steel pipes, a
Japanese fishing technique known as oikami. - At the same time, the attractive sounds of humpback whales preparing
to feed were broadcast from a boat headed towards the open ocean. - He was last sighted in the vicinity of the Farallon islands in 1991.
- Analyses of the whale songs in the 1960s led to worldwide media
interest and convinced the public that whales are highly intelligent
- In the 19th century, two humpback whales were found dead near sites
of repeated oceanic sub-bottom blasting, with traumatic injuries and
fractures in the ears. - Saxitoxin, a paralytic shellfish poisoning from contaminated mackerel,
has been implicated in humpback whale deaths. - Whale researchers along the Atlantic Coast report that there have
been more stranded whales with signs of vessel strikes and fishing
gear entanglement in recent years than ever before. - The NOAA recorded 88 stranded humpback whales between January
2016 and February 2019. - This is more than double the number of whales stranded between
2013 and 2016. - Because of the increase in stranded whales NOAA declared an
unusual mortality event in April 2017. - This declaration still stands.
- Virginia Beach aquarium's stranding response coordinator, Alexander
Costidis says the conclusions are that the two causes of these
unusual mortality events are vessel interactions and entanglements. - The worldwide population is at least 80,000, with 18,000–20,000 in the
North Pacific, about 12,000 in the North Atlantic and over 50,000 in
the Southern Hemisphere down from a pre-whaling population of
125,000. - The NOAA is committed to protecting and recovering the humpback
whale. - NOAA enacted vessel speed restrictions which serve to protect the
endangered North Atlantic right whale and many other species of
whales. - They respond to dead, injured, or entangled whales.
- They also educate whale watchers, tourists, and vessel operators on
responsible viewing of the humpback whales. - NOAA works to develop methods to reduce vessel strikes and reduce
risk of entanglement in fishing gear. - The NOAA's work will help reduce the number of humpback whale
deaths. - In August 2008, the IUCN changed humpbacks' status from
Vulnerable to Least Concern, although two subpopulations remain
endangered. - The species was listed as vulnerable in 1996 and endangered as
recently as 1988. - Most monitored stocks have rebounded since the end of commercial
whaling. - In the North Atlantic stocks are believed to be approaching pre-
hunting levels. - However, the species is considered endangered in some countries,
including the United States. - The sanctuary provided by US national parks, such as Glacier Bay
National Park and Preserve and Cape Hatteras National Seashore,
became major factors in population recovery of humpback whales. - According to Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in
Canada (COSEWIC), the North Pacific humpback population
increased at about 4% annually from 1992 to 2008.
Meanings
- Coronula Diadema: It is a species whale barnacle that lives on the
skin of a humpback whale and certain other species of whale. - Grunts: A sound made by a pig.
- Snorts: A sound made by a horse when excited or frightened.
- Dissect: Methodically, cut a body in order to study its internal parts.
- NOAA: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) is an American scientific agency within
the United States Department of Commerce that focuses on the
conditions of the oceans, major waterways, and the atmosphere. - Harpoons: A barbed missile resembling a spear that is attached to a
long rope and thrown by hand or fired from a gun, used for catching
whales and other large sea creatures. - Albino: An abnormally white animal or plant.