You may have recently seen the new Maui whale Kiosk at the Cannery Mall in Lahaina, Maui. Below is some of this information about our annual visitors: Humpback Whales.
Also, if you’re looking to do some whale watching, please visit Maui Whale Watching or call Toll Free:Â 1-888-700-3764 ext. 8
Humpback Whale General Information
Scientific Name: Megaptera Novaeangliae
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Suborder: Mysticeti
Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Magaptera
Species: Novaeangliae
Humpback whales are rorguals, a family that also includes the Blue Whale, Fin Whale, Bryde’s Whale, Sei Whale and the Minke Whale. Rorquals have two common characteristics: Ventral pleats running from the tip of the lower jaw back to the bell area, and a dorsal fin on their backs. Rorquals are filter feeders. They have sheets of baleen in their mouths that filter food such as krill, plankton and herring out of the seawater, as opposed to the odontocete or “toothed†whales such as the Orca and the Sperm whale. The humpback has a bulky head with bumpy protuberances (tubercles), each with a bristle sticking out of them. Humpbacks are acrobats of the ocean, breaching and slapping the water. They live in pods and have 2 blowholes on the top of their massive head for breathing air. The name humpback describes the motion it makes as it arches its back out of the water in preparation for a dive.
From small to big!!!
At birth, humpback whales can weigh between 1 and 1.5 tons and range from 10 to 15 feet in length. The gestation period is usually between 11 – 12 months. Calves grow rapidly in Hawaiian waters averaging about 1 inch in length and 100 pounds a day in weight. The mother’s milk is close to 50% fat, and has the consistency of yogurt. When baby is hungry it nudges its mother. The mother then squirts the milk out into the seawater, which the calf then consumes. Calves consume up to 100 gallons of milk per day. These calves have to gain strength and body fat quickly for their long journey to the feeding grounds in Alaska.
I’m hungry!
While the calf is busy feasting and playing, mom is burning the candle at both ends. Not only is she fasting while in Hawaiian waters, she is also producing large amounts of milk for her calf. Hawaiian waters contain no phytoplankton, which are microscopic plants that support the small fish that the adult whales feed on. Simply put, there is no food source for adult humpbacks in Hawaii. Their bodies burn their own blubber layer for energy. As a result, the adult whales can lose up to 1/3 of their body weight, especially the females.
Up or Down, that my friends is the question…
How long do these gently giants stay down? On average a humpback whale can stay submerged for up to 45 minutes, however, average down time is between 5 and 15 minutes. If you see a whale’s fluke, you may be in for a long wait before the whale surfaces again. You thought Lance Armstrong had large lungs!! Think again. Each lung can be the size of a compact car. Whales exchange up to 90% of the air in their lungs as compared to us humans that exchange only 15% to 20% of the air in our lungs.
Whale blood contains a special chemical called myohemoglobin, which allows the blood to contain a large volume of oxygen. This may help the whale stay submerged for long periods.
Beach front cabanas, fish tacos, and nightlife with friends?
Hardly, As far as we know, humpbacks are quite solitary animals. They don’t seem to form a strong bond between each other as adults. They mainly get together for feeding and breeding purposes. They do travel in loose nit pods. Calves tend to stay with their mother during their first year of life. They will make the migration back to Alaska after birthing and mating season and remain together in Alaska for the summer. They will return together to Hawaii in the winter. At this time they are likely to separate.
We Sing, We dance…….
Have you ever been in the water in Hawaii during whale season and heard the whales sing underwater? Their singing sounds kind of like a very high-pitched violin being played from a distance. Both male and female whales are capable of song, however the male is the most vocal. During mating season, males will sing complex, organized songs with distinct themes and melodies for up to 20 minutes. These songs can be heard from over 15 miles away. It’s not known why whales sing, but it’s rumored that it is either an attempt to attract females or serves a warning to other whales. Maybe they are just happy.
Yes whales dance!! Have you ever seen a whale breach? Slap its pectoral fins or do a peduncle slap. Ok, maybe they don’t dance, however, Humpbacks exhibit all kinds of extraordinary behaviors during their stay here in Hawaii.
Sleep
Humpbacks sleep by shutting off half their brain. Periodically, they switch brain sides. While one half is awake the other is asleep. The side that remains awake acts as a sentinel to protect the whale from threats, including sharks and boats.
Migration
Every year the North Pacific population of humpback whales migrates to Hawaii, Western Mexico and the islands of South Japan to mate, calve and nurse. The Alaska to Hawaii migration is over 3000 miles long and takes about 39 days. They are believed to swim 24 hours a day and cruise an estimated speed of 3 to 4 miles per hour. It’s rumored that whales may use what is called biomagnetic navigation to find their destinations. Other animals such as Pidgeons, Starlings and Tuna use biomagnetic navigation, which is using Earth’s magnetic field to navigate. The strength of this field varies at different places on Earth much like our existing landscape varies. A substance known as biomagnetite, found in the brain of humpback whales, is the brain chemical required for this type of navigation.
Humpbacks may also use echo-location as a means of navigation. This is the method of bouncing sound off an object from a long distance away and using the length of time the sound takes to return to give specific location or distance from the object.
Go to Boss Frog’s across from Starbucks at the Cannery Mall in Lahaina to book your seats on the next available Whale Watch in Maui.
There’s a new luau in town!! The Grand Wailea has all of the wonderful components that you want. A delicious feast, hula dancing, sunset over the ocean, fire knife dancers, and Hawaiian music.
