Whales
Biologists have classified the 79 known species of whales into two groups: the Odontocetes or toothed whales include the Sperm whale, Orca, dolphins and porpoise. The second group are the Mysticetes or baleen whales. Baleen is a series of brush-like keratin (the same material that human fingernails are made of) plates in a whale’s mouth that strain small fish and plankton out of the ocean water. Along with Humpback whales, Bryde’s, Fin, Minke, Sei and Blue whales are also Mysticetes.

Humpback Whales – Big Winged New Englander
Black on top with varying degrees of white on the throat and belly, Humpback whales (scientific name – Megaptera novaeangliae) have distinctively long flippers for which they received their scientific name. Irregular knobs and protuberances appear on their head and flippers. The knobs on the head are called tubercles and each one contains a single, stiff hair follicle, which may serve a sensory function. Frequently, the whales are observed covered with “hitch hikers” – barnacles and whale lice. A Humpback whale has a small dorsal fin, a prominent ridge and two blowholes (the whale’s nostrils) on the top of its head.

A Humpback’s Tail
The distinctive markings on each Humpback whale’s tail are as unique as human fingerprints. Scientists use these markings to identify and name individual whales of the Whale Adoption Project. Social structure, migration, births and deaths are followed year after year through this method of identification.

Birth and Migration
Like all whales, the humpback is a mammal, which means the young are live born and nursed with milk from the mother’s mammary glands. The gestation period is about 12 months. The newborn calf weighs 5,500 pounds (2,500 kg) and can gain 100 pounds (45kg) each day nursing on its mother’s milk. The calf spends its first year at its mother’s side as it learns to eat fish and become self-reliant.

A migratory species, the East Coast Humpback whales of the Whale Adoption Project are born during the winter in the warm waters of the Caribbean, many on Silver Bank, off the Dominican Republic. They head north to spend the summer on the rich, cold-water feeding grounds off the coasts of the northeastern United States and Canada.

Humpback Behaviors
Humpback whales delight whale watchers with several behaviors that mystify scientists. Why do they breach? Does hurling their 40 ton bodies out of the water serve a purpose or is it just showing off?

Who is watching whom when a whale raises its head out of the water? Called a spyhop, this behavior gives whale watchers the opportunity to look a whale right in the eye! Is a Humpback whale waving at whale watchers when it flippers? Sometimes whales are seen swimming on their backs with both flippers waving out of the water. And what about lobtailing? What is a Humpback whale accomplishing when it flips its tail back and forth slapping the water’s surface?

Feeding
The Humpback whale, like all baleen whales, is a filter feeder. It takes a huge mouthful of fish-bearing sea water and then closes its mouth, forcing the water out through the baleen plates. The bristles of the baleen catch the food (plankton, krill and small fish like sand lance) which the whale then swallows. But that’s just part of the story. The fishing techniques of the humpback whale can be as dramatic as its acrobatics! Groups of whales work together surrounding schools of fish and literally herding them into tight clusters. The whales then approach the fish, mouths wide open, and are rewarded with a generous mouthful of food.

Another method unique to Humpback whales is bubble feeding. Alone or in groups, the whale rises from the depths of about 50 feet (15m). As it spirals upward, it exhales, creating a screen of bubbles. This “bubble net” forces its prey into an ever-decreasing area. Then the whale lunges up through the center, engulfing large quantities of fish. From the deck of a boat, the bubble net is seen first as a lighter green circle outlined by bubbles rising to the surface. The whale or whales breaking the surface with mouths open wide is a spectacular sight.

Songs of the Humpback Whale
Studies have discovered that Humpback whales sing songs composed of an ordered sequence of musical sounds, much like a songbird. The singing whales are thought to be solitary males who start to sing soon after they reach the breeding grounds in the winter. Each song can last up to 35 minutes and has a definite beginning and end. Themes from previous years are often repeated, but the songs seem to change from breeding season to breeding season. The whales sing mainly when in shallow coastal waters where the sound can travel more than 114 miles (185 km). Scientists studying whale song can identify individuals by their unique sounds.