The Grooved Whale Project

At 45 feet and just as many tons, the Humpback Whales of the northwest Pacific congregate each summer to feed in the waters of southeast Alaska and journey each winter to the tropical breeding grounds of Hawaii. The fifth largest of the great whales,

Classified as a Cetacean – or marine mammal – Humpbacks are warm-blooded, give birth to live young, use lungs to breath and retain similar sensory organs to ours – eyes, ears, nose (blowhole) and are thought to be descendants of land mammals similar to present day cows.

Humpbacks are named for the distinctive arch thier backs make when diving. Other identifying features include the small dorsal notch on the back, elegant flukes and extraordinarily long pectoral fins – which gives rise to their scientific name: megaptera noveangiliae (translation: Big Wings of New England).

Most often, the underside of the fluke has a unique black and white pigmentation pattern that allows for easy identification of the individual. Some flukes are entirely black, in which case the shape of the fluke becomes its identifying character. Other times, a notch or tear in the fluke provides the necessary information.

In summer, Humpbacks feed on two types of food – Krill (tiny shrimp-like creatures) and Herring. When Herring is on the menu, the whales coordinate efforts in a behavior known as lunge or group feeding which entails a group of whales encircling a ball of Herring in an underwater trap known as a bubblenet. As the bubbles rise, a whale trumpets a feeding call for to a minute or two before sweeping the frequency upwards to cue a synchronous lunge to the surface.

Between mid October and November the feeding stops in Alaska and the whales swim to the warm protected waters of Hawaii for the breeding and birthing season – a 2,818 mile (4535 km) journey that has been documented as taking as little as three weeks.In Hawaii, the Humpbacks display another quality of vocalizations – the Humpback’s famous mating song, sung exclusively by the males.
The song lasts between 20 – 35 minutes with each whale singing the same arrangement of verse, chorus, verse – though not in unison. Whereas in Alaska the Humpbacks maybe vocalize once every twenty minutes, the Winter Song is a continual presence in the waters of Hawaii.