How many humpback whales are in hawaii

Since baby humpbacks are born with minimal amounts of fat, the water is too cold in Alaska. Do the whales eat at all in Hawaii? How much do humpback whales weigh? Are males or females bigger? How long does it take them to get to Alaska? Whales spend weeks migrating between Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands. Mothers often use their pectoral fins to caress and cradle their young and have been seen assisting their babies to the surface.

Newborns are 12 to 15 feet long and can weigh 2 tons. Calves typically nurse for 8 to 12 months and can consume 80 gallons in a day. They can double their size in one year. Although it may sound like groaning, screeching or creaking to us, humpbacks can produce sounds that are classified as true songs.

Songs are produced on the breeding grounds, and to date, singers observed have been identified as males. Researchers speculate that singing may play a role in attracting a mate, establishing a territory, or advertising availability. Their song is identical to that of the humpbacks breeding off the coasts of Mexico and Japan. The song changes every year, and it changes across the Pacific basin at virtually the same time! The song of the humpback is a mystery and a marvel: its purpose may be more complex than we can imagine.

But, since the whales spent the summer in the north, doing nothing but eating, they are sustained by fat reserves in the winter. Humpbacks sleep with half their brain at a time. Then they switch sides, and put the other half to sleep. The side that remains awake acts as a sentinel to protect the whale from threats, including sharks and boats. For the most part, these whales are spotted off the Kona coastline since the offshore trench is so deep.

Here in the waters of Maui County, the waters are so shallow that the deep diving whales will rarely pay us a visit. It could be a Hawaiian monk seal splashing in the waves or a massive humpback whale breaching—or it could be a rarely-seen species like a pygmy killer whale or a pod of short finned pilot whales.

Hawaii Population Estimate: 10, Maui is also the headquarters for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary , and the sanctuary boundary encompasses the leeward coastline of the entire island of Maui.

Hawaii Population Estimate: Cascadia estimates the insular population is only about whales, and they spend their time traversing all of the islands from the Big Island all the way to Kauai click here for historical tracking maps.

There is another, larger population that lives in offshore waters, but they are considered to be genetically separate from the insular species and would never be seen by visitors. Closer to shore in the Main Hawaiian Islands, False Killer Whales are very predatory and love the taste of yellowfin tuna. Hawaii Population Estimate: 2, Even though NOAA estimates there are almost 3, Melon Headed whales in Hawaii , the chances of seeing one on a paddling tour in Maui is definitely exceptionally slim.

These distinctive characteristics are used in many instances used to identify individual whales. Humpback whales filter feed on tiny crustaceans mainly krill and small fish and consume up to 3, pounds of food per day.

Adults have been known to hold their breath for up to 45 minutes, where calves must surface for air every few minutes. During the winter months, mating is frequently observed in the Hawaiian Islands. Humpbacks are generally polygynous, meaning that one male mates with more than one female while each female mates with only one male, and competitive, aggressive behavior can observed with males on the wintering grounds.

These behaviors include chasing, vocal and bubble displays, horizontal tail thrashing, and rear body thrashing. Males also sing complex songs that can last up to 20 minutes and be heard underwater from miles away.