SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HUMPBACK WHALES

MOVE TO THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS

 

Humpback Mother and Calf

It is the austral winter in the Southern Hemisphere right now which means that the Southern Hemisphere humpback whale populations have moved from their feeding grounds along the Antarctic coast to their more northerly breeding grounds.ย  In the South Pacific, that means that humpbacks can be seen and heard in their low latitude breeding grounds where they will mate and calve.ย  Humpback Whales breed around oceanic islands, offshore seamounts, and reef systems.

Where to find Southern Hemisphere Humpback whales this time of year:

  • Oceania in the South Pacific islands of French Polynesia, Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji, Niue, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Tonga, and Norfolk Island.
  • The Pacific coasts of Central and South America as far north as northern Costa Rica to Ecuador including the Galapagos, and the Pacific Panamanian Islands.
  • The Atlantic coastal waters off Brazil around 23 (degrees) S
  • Southwestern and Southeastern Africa
  • Northwestern and Northeastern Australia

According to Mark Carwardineโ€™s HANDBOOK OF WHALES, DOLPHINS, AND PORPOISES OF THE WORLD: โ€œHumpbacks that feed in widely separated regions in the summer gather together and mix in the same breeding grounds (increasing the chances of finding each other and promoting genetic diversity).โ€ย  Like sea turtles there is a strong loyalty to natal breeding grounds.ย  Mother -Calf pairs generally stay close to one another and prefer shallower water.ย  They may or may not have another whale with them.ย  Other groups of whales are usually made up of a female whale and a dominant โ€˜escortโ€™ and perhaps other hopeful โ€˜escort – contendersโ€™.

The demonstrative behaviors of humpback whales make are very distinct.ย  Both males and females of all ages breech, dive, tail waggle and smack, and flipper wave and slap. They can be seen doing this on their own or in larger groups.ย  Both males and females can vocalize for communications and the Singing Humpbacks are usually lone males.ย  Their songs can travel great distances (tens of Kilometers) in the ocean to be heard underwater and through the hull of vessels. ย The songs are shared among large groups of whales and evolve.ย  They have been described as everything from haunting to beautiful.

Photo Credit: SV PRIYA

Up until the mid-1950โ€™s the humpback whale as a species was depleted by 95% in the whaling days and today, their biggest threat is entanglement in fishing gear.ย  Other threats include noise pollution, ship strikes, oil and gas development, and coastal habitat disturbance/destruction.ย  Thankfully, global humpback whale populations have recovered significantly with the ending of commercial whaling and despite current threats this majestic whale is thriving.