6-Humpback Whales

Humpback Whale Research Foundation founded by Dr. Ruth Searle accessed at http://www.hwrf-uk.org/About-humpback-whales.html

As shown on the map above, there are several different, discrete populations of Atlantic humpback whales in their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic—the Gulf of Maine, Newfoundland, Labrador, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Baffin Island, western Greenland, Iceland and Norway. Humpbacks might be solitary or they may travel in groups of 2 up to 20. Humpbacks use the North Atlantic as their summer feeding grounds; in the winter they will travel to the Caribbean for their breeding grounds. It is here where all five whale populations will merge and some intermixing between populations will occur. It is, however, unlikely that there is a lot of mixing between the northern and southern whale populations since their latitudinal ‘schedules’ do not overlap.

Humpbacks migrate over great distances the reasons for which are not quite understood. It might be that there are fewer predators or that there are energetic benefits for staying in warm waters when the food in the northern areas becomes scarce. Nevertheless, they show great site fidelity in their northern feeding grounds which is driven by the matrilineal line (female whales). Thus, it is possible for fishermen and others to recognize certain whales by their tails year after year (a humpback can get up to 80 years old). 

The peak birthing month appears to be February in the Caribbean; a calf remains with its mother for about 11 months, often much longer.

It appears that whales do not always judge their timing correctly. We were told that in late spring of 2014 about 9 Blue whales (different species but same family) died around St. Anthony because shifting ice patterns made it impossible for them to come up for air. So, they drowned. Check http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/9-blue-whales-die-after-getting-trapped-off-newfoundland-s-coast-1.1769042 for more details on that story. Another whale also died at Norris Point within the Gros Morne National Park.

Whales can be subdivided into toothed whales such as orcas and baleen whales which have plates in lieu of teeth. Despite the fact that these animals can catch only relatively small animals (zooplankton and phytoplankton as well as small fish), baleen whales are some of the largest animals earth has seen. Baleens are made of keratin, the same material as our fingernails.

 

Baleens

When a humpback feeds it will gulp enormous amounts of water together with all kinds of capelins, other small fish and crustaceans. With its tongue the whale will then push the water out of its mouth trapping all kinds of eatables in its baleens.

The timing of the humpback whales arriving in their northern feeding grounds is usually synchronized with the arrival of their food—the capelin fish, a small fish with its own migration pattern. They provide great food for all kinds of predators--birds, larger fish (even herring in the northern Europe) and, of course, whales. Thus their arrival is often timed with that of birds and whales and the relative disappearance of icebergs.