Humpback whale - The acrobats of the sea
Humpback whale tail
Winter’s day in Kaikōura, New Zealand
The annual migration of the Humpback whales have started in the Southern Hemisphere! In summer these whales spend their time closer to the South Pole where they feed in the nutrient rich waters around Antarctica. Once autumn starts to arrive and the waters get cooler it is a good time for them to start making their way north into the warmer waters.
There could be many reasons to why these whales migrate each year. The females give birth to their young after a gestation period of about 11 months. The warmer waters are more suitable for the mothers to give birth while their young are small and vulnerable. There are fewer Orca present in those warmer waters so the young may have a higher survival rate. It is also possible that they rid barnacles and parasites off their bodies. Some of these barnacles may not survive the higher temperatures and simply fall off as they move north.
Kaikoura, New Zealand
Their full migration takes a couple of months (but could be a lot shorter) and whether the whales are giving birth or not, the majority of whales still migrate. During their migration they pretty much starve themselves and only have the occasional snack along the way. There are a few places that are known “snack stops” along the way for these whales and Kaikōura, New Zealand is one of those places. Along the east coast of Australia, Eden is also a known snack stop for them. Apart from the occasional snack, they mainly migrate without stopping much. Some whales have been seen staying in Kaikōura for an extended period of time and it is possible that not all make the full migration back to Antarctica after their move.
Another special place to view Humpback whales is Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia where many mothers stop with their calves on their way back to Antarctica after given birth. Platypus bay (which does not have any platypus) is a sheltered bay where the mothers can stop for a break and nurse their young. The young might even have a bit of play in the bay!
A Humpback whale can be identified by their fluke/tail as they have many distinct markings along their trailing edge of their tails. By taking photographs of the tail of the whale, you could find out if a whale has been sighted before! It is like us humans having fingerprints, whales have flukeprints! If you happen to see a Humpback whale anywhere in the world and you want to know if this whale has been photographed by anyone else, you may be able to find this out. By heading over to Happywhale.com you can upload you photo there and if this whale has been recorded before, you may get a match!
Platypus bay, Hervey Bay
Queensland, Australia
This migration also takes place in the Northern Hemisphere but the opposite time of the year. Moving into summer the whales are instead moving away from their winter breeding grounds and back towards the North Pole into their summer feeding grounds (but they all go north at the moment). Although Humpback whales can be found in all of our major oceans they have different colourations and this is distinguished in each population. In Australasia the whales are predominantly black on top and white underneath. Some whales even have their white colouration draped up onto their back!
The white colouration reaches close to the whale’s spine
Sydney, Australia
Humpback whales are one of the more acrobatic of whales and can often be seen leaping out of the water, tailslapping, spyhopping and curiously approach boats. Due to them being such active animals they are a favourite whale species for many. I gotta say that I am a big fan of Humpback whales!
Humpback whales in the Northern Hemisphere
Humpback whales are a baleen species of whale (mysticeti) which is a filter feeding whale. Their main source of food is krill, especially in the Southern Hemisphere but they also feed on plankton and small schooling fish. In Kaikōura we often see Lobster krill/Squat lobster in massive swams! By expanding their throats the whales can take huge quantities of water and they use their baleen plates as a sieve!
Squat lobster/Lobster krill
Kaikōura, New Zealand