The Humpback Whale

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Samana

The humpback whale can be seen in Samaná which is located in north east Dominican Republic on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It has a world renown bay which attracts thousands of humpback whales every year.

Every year between January and March about 5,000 humpbacks migrate to Samana Bay [Bahia de Samana] to congregate, mate and rear their calves.

Found in oceans and seas around the world, they typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres each year. Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or sub-tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter.

Breaching the water

Humpbacks travel close to the surface and parallel to it, and then jerk upwards at full speed to perform a breach. In a typical breach, the whale clears the water at an angle of about 30° to the horizontal. Around 90% of the body clears the water before the whale turns to land on its back or side. To achieve 90% clearance, a humpback whale needs to leave the water at a speed of 29 km/h.

Not surprisingly as a whale repeatedly breaches, it becomes steadily more tired, with less of its body clearing the water.

The reasons why a whale breaches the water are unclear although it has been observed that they are more likely to breach when they are in groups. It could therefore have social significance,for example showing some sort of dominance, courting behaviour etc. It is also possible that the loud "smack" upon re-entering the surface is useful for stunning or scaring fish.

Lobtailing-is the act of a whale or dolphin lifting their tail fin [fluke] out of the water and then bringing it down onto the surface of the water hard and fast in order to make a loud slap. It is widely believed that the use for this is to scare fish. As the sound of a lobtail can be heard underwater several hundred metres from the site of a slap, the loud noise may cause fish to become frightened, thus compressing the school, and making them easier prey.

Size and shape

An adult humpback whale ranges in length from 12-16 metres (40-50 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb). Females are slightly larger at 16-17 m (52-56 ft)

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the water. If you take a ride out in Samana Bay from January to March you should be lucky enough to see the whales leaping out of the water at close quarters.

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Breeding

Courtship-rituals take place during the winter months, when the humpback whale migrates toward the equator from their summer feeding grounds closer to the poles. Competition for a mate is usually fierce, with often two to twenty males gathering around a single female and exhibiting a variety of behaviours in order to establish dominance. The displays may last several hours.

On my trip in Samana Bay I witnessed 4 males competing for a female.

Females reach sexual maturity at the age of five with full adult size being achieved a little later. Females typically breed every two or three years. The gestation period is 11.5 months, yet some individuals can breed in two consecutive years. Males reach sexual maturity at approximately 7 years of age.

Calves [see above]-newborn calves are around 20-foot in length and 2 tons in weight. They are nursed by their mothers for around 6 months, then sustained through a mixture of nursing and independent feeding for another six months.

If you are interesed in the humpback whale you may wish to know more about Samana

Or Cabarete, north of Samana

Or Dominican weather

Or Punta Cana the lovely beach resort to the south

Or the Dominican history