SELECT REGION

Humpback Whales

The humpback whale is known for one of its distinctive movements, the arch of its back above the surface of the water just before it dives

The fifth largest of the rorquals, the humpback whale is known for its voice and is named for one of its distinctive acrobatic movements, the arch of its back above the surface of the water just before it dives. The species produces very loud sounds when it slaps its flippers or flukes on the water. The humpback may lift its head above the surface for as long as thirty seconds. For these reasons and more, visitors on whale watching tours in Costa Rica and locales further south love to observe the humpbacks.

Return to Previous Page

Information about Humpback Whales

Humpback males are the singers among whales, a habit that scientists believe they employ as a mating ritual. Researchers are less sure about how humpbacks make these sounds since the species has no vocal cords and does not appear to open its mouth or exhale while singing. Though other whales make one or more sounds as well, those of the humpback are the most complex, lasting as long as twenty to thirty minutes and repeated over days of presumed wooing. It was this species that American classical composer, Alan Hovhaness, memorialized in his popular 1970 composition, “And God Created Great Whales.” Aboard the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977 are capsules containing images and sounds emblematic of our planet and its inhabitants, including humpback songs, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony among others.

The humpback grows to fifty-two feet, weighs up to fifty tons and lives forty to fifty years. It has a narrow snout, fourteen to thirty-five throat grooves, and its huge jaw contains 330 pairs of baleen plates. Humpbacks feed cooperatively using a technique called “bubble net feeding.” Diving some fifty feet below the surface, they create a huge net of bubbles as they circle toward the surface, entrapping krill as they move, to enjoy a meal when they arrive. This effective strategy allows the species to eat between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds of food each day during its four-month feeding season. The humpback can dive as deep as 700 feet but spends most of the time in shallow water. Each dive usually lasts between fifteen and thirty minutes. The humpback’s swimming speed depends on the activity. It usually swims three to nine miles per hour, half that while feeding and faster if need be. Its slow pace in coastal waters while feeding made the humpback more vulnerable to whalers than faster breeds.

Humpbacks vary in color, gray, black or mottled, with a white underside. It has a small dorsal fin and mostly-white flippers that are a third as long as its body. Whale watchers on Costa Rica tours and elsewhere may notice its twelve-ft flukes with scalloped edges before the species dives. The white markings on the underside of the flukes are unique, allowing scientists to study individual whales. Bristled growths protrude from its head. It produces a bushy blow and breaches so powerfully that the humpback may lift most of its body above the surface of the water, an amazing sight for people on Ecuador tours and other whale watching destinations.

Humpbacks are found in the world’s polar waters. Populations from the Arctic migrate as far south as Venezuela and those that inhabit Antarctica migrate as far north as Costa Rica where they mate and give birth. During certain periods, visitors on Costa Rica tours will see humpbacks that have migrated from both poles. Visitors on whale watching tours in South America may also see humpbacks in Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Brazil as will people on Antarctica tours or Panama tours. Humpbacks live in temporary pods. The species breeds every two years and has a twelve-month gestation.

The humpback received international protection in 1963. In 1992, the state of Hawaii established a 600-mile perimeter Humpback Whale Sanctuary around its islands. The largest populations of humpback whales, perhaps over 50,000, inhabit waters south of the Antarctic Convergence, making the species a common sight during travel to Antarctica. The orca is its primary predator though sharks may attack young humpbacks as well. Japan’s quota of humpback whales currently stands of fifty, though no humpbacks were killed during the 2009-2010 season.

SOUTHERN EXPLORATIONS
IS A PROUD
MEMBER / SPONSOR / AWARDEE OF THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS