Wildlife Spotlight: The Humpback Whale
(Megaptera novaeangliae)
By Jennifer Schlegel
Published: October 2005
Named for the hump in its dorsal fin, the humpback whale's scientific name means "large-winged of New England" and refers to its long, wing-like flippers. Helpful in identifying individuals is each whale's own special pattern of markings found on the underside of its tail flukes, a design set in stark contrast against a body of mostly black or grey; though some flukes are found to be completely dark underneath. Females tend to be larger than males, and full-grown adults observed off our coastal region reach a length of 49-52 feet and an average weight of 35-40 tons!
There appear to be at least three geographically separate populations of humpbacks: North Pacific, North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere. So many of us are perpetually thrilled to get a glimpse of these awe-inspiring creatures, as the whales migrate, breed and feed each winter, making their way north from Central America and Mexico. Those we spot near the Farallones and off the California Coast are traveling up along the Western Pacific to the shoreline waters of Washington State.
Humpbacks are truly the acrobats of the whale world, often breaching, stroking each other and slapping the water with their flippers and flukes. More than likely, when you happen to be fortunate enough to see a whale jumping up high out of the sea and reentering with a dramatic splash, it's a humpback. And some speculate they are communicating with each other in a yet unknown way, across miles and miles of ocean.
As baleen whales, they use their 250-400 plates (each of which are nearly 2 feet long!) to trap and eat krill, herring, other small fish and plankton. While the whales use several feeding methods, "bubble net feeding" is entirely unique to the humpbacks. During this approach, one or more whales will blow a big ring of bubbles that encircle a school of krill or fish. They then proceed to swim through the bubble-net ring with their massive mouths wide-open, taking in huge amounts of food.
Best known for their haunting, intricate vocalizations, male humpbacks sometimes sing for up to 20-minute stints, covering an extensive range of octaves at many frequencies beyond human hearing. Even more fascinating, the whales all sing basically the same song, no matter where they are located. According to the numerous recordings gathered over time, each year the song is repeated, albeit with slight changes from the previous year. It is believed that behaviors such as dominance and mate attraction are connected to the singing.
In the mid-1980's, GFNMS provided the first grant funding for Cascadia Research's photo-identification work on humpbacks, and the lead researcher, John Calambokidis, is now the principal investigator of the SPLASH project. SPLASH stands for Status of Populations, Abundance and Structure of Humpbacks, and it is the first comprehensive population assessment of the entire North Pacific population of humpback whales. Many agencies and research groups will pool their data to obtain the most accurate population size, distribution and range information for the species to date.
"Humphrey" is the most famous humpback, if not one of the best-remembered whales of all, for being twice rescued by the Marine Mammal Center and other groups. The first rescue was in 1985, when he entered into San Francisco Bay and swam up the Sacramento River. Then in 1990 he came back, only to get stuck on the mudflats in the Bay near Hunter's Point. With the help of a Coast Guard boat and a large cargo net, he was eventually pulled off the flats. While there were a few rumors of Humphrey sightings at the Farallon Islands in 1991, they were never confirmed.
Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales, with less than 10% of their original population still remaining. Though in recent years, they have been observed more and more frequently off the California Coast, so perhaps there is hope yet for the beloved humpbacks.
