The Humpback Whale

The Humpback Whale

In Hawaii, where new land is born as volcanic rock, another birth takes place. A baby humpback enters the world and joins the 3,000 or more whales that congregate in the warm waters off Hawaii or Mexico each winter to mate and give birth. This is the story of her first year of life. Over twelve months she will learn many skills from her mother, and eventually they will make the several-thousand-mile journey together to Alaska's southeast coast.

Humpbacks travel between Hawaii and Alaska every year, guided by their internal compass. According to PBS copyright 2008, the krill-rich waters of Alaska are the whales' summer feeding grounds, an environment very different from the calving grounds they have left behind in Hawaii. Here, more than water temperature changes, the behavior of the whale changes, as well. While fiercely competitive in the breeding season in Hawaii, fighting for mates and protecting young, the opposite is true in Alaska. Whales cooperate, working in teams to gather food in the most efficient way possible. When the summer ends and the food is gone, mother and baby head back to Hawaii again. Whales need to eat a lot as they are mammals and need to maintain a warm body temperature while living in the cold ocean. This fact, combined with their large size, make the daily food requirements quite high. The new born calves get fed 100 pounds of milk each day for a period of 5-7 months until it is weaned, explains earthtrust.org copyright 2001.

The humpback whale has only a year to learn the exquisiteness of whale society before she is left by her mother to continue her education on her own, learning from observation and experience.

Alaska Department of Fish & Games copyright 1994 explain that like other baleen whales, adult females at any given age, 42 feet and 42 tons, are usually larger than males, 40.5 feet and 40 tons. Humpback whales are very large animals.

Just like humans, the humpback whale needs oxygen. They can hold their breath up to 30 minutes but they usually come up every 8-10 minutes.

Another interesting behavior the humpbacks do during their stay in the tropical islands is singing. The "songs" of humpbacks are made up of complex vocal patterns, according to earthtrust.Org. Scientists believe that only male humpbacks sing. The purpose of the songs is unknown. Earthtrust also explains that many scientists think that males sing to attract mates, or to communicate among other males of the pod.

A pod refers to a social group of whales defined by earthtrust. They usually contain up to 2 to 3 individuals and scientists feel that whales belong to these pods for short periods of time. But according to a marine biologist I met in Mexico, Humpback whales typically travel solo more often.

Sound and light travel differently in water than they do in air. Whales have developed