Natural History & Songs of the Humpback Whales

You can't encounter a whale for the first time and not remember
it for the rest of your life.
~ Roger Payne

Humpback whales are magnificent beings. They are enchantingly beautiful and graceful, they sing, they are huge yet amazingly gentle and charming. When you’re with them you can easily become captivated by seeing their sleek black bodies glide through the water with the graceful movement of their long, white pectoral fins which appear lovely aquamarine blue when close to the surface. Their pectoral fins are the longest of any whales, making them look almost like angels as they move. Uncle.
Photo purchased from Dancer Fleet.You may gasp involuntarily when you see their huge flukes lift out of the water majestically, allowing you to see their beautiful, unique markings. You may scream or shout for joy when you watch them powerfully raise their full bodies out of the water to breach. Tears may come to your eyes when you hear their haunting songs, or watch their grace of movement, a grace surpassing that of any human ballerina. And your heart may swell when you feel their trust in coming so close to humans—the same species who killed almost every member of theirs.

Facts about humpback whales:
Humpback whales are marine mammals of the order cetacea. They are different from their marine mammal cousins of the pinniped order in that as cetaceans they must live entirely in the water. Pinnipeds such as harbor seals and sea lions live in the water but also regularly haul out on rocks and land for long periods. Cetaceans cannot do this. As a mammal they must come to the surface to breath air, but they must remain in the sea. Humpbacks also belong to the suborder Mysticeti, meaning that instead of having teeth they have baleen. Other baleen whales are gray, blue, fin, right and minke whales. Odontocetes, or toothed whales, include killer, sperm, pilot whales and dolphins. The species name for humpback is Megaptera novaeangliae, meaning "Big Winged New Englander." Big winged for their long pectoral fins, and New Englander because the first recorded sighting of a humpback was from the shores of New England. The common name, humpback, is derived from the "hump" of the dorsal fin on it's back, and the hump that is created when they arch their backs to dive

Status and Population:
Humpback whales are endangered. Between 1905 and 1965, whaling reduced their numbers from about 240,000 to a present estimate of 30,000 - 40,000. There are approximately 10,600 North Atlantic Humpbacks, the whales we see in Silver Bank in the Caribbean.

Distribution & Migration:
Humpbacks are found in all the world's oceans. Most of them follow a regular migration route, summering in cooler waters for feeding, and wintering in tropical waters for mating and calving. It is believed that approximately 3,000 to 5,000 humpbacks travel through Silver Bank each winter.

Physical Characteristics

Illustration copyright Teresa Wagner.Photo copyright Sierra Goodman. Used with permission and gratitude.
Length: Adult males 40-48 feet, adult females 45-50 feet. At birth: 12-15 feet.

Weight: Adults 40-50 tons (about one ton per foot). At birth: 1 ton (2,000 pounds)

Photo copyright Sierra Goodman Used with permission and gratitude.Dorsal Fin:

This is the fin on the whale's back that we often see when they glide or float near the surface of the water. It is situated about 2/3 of the way from the mouth toward the back of the body. The shape of each humpback's dorsal fin is unique and helps with identification of individual whales.

Photo purchased from Dancer Fleet.Pectoral Fins (Flippers):

The longest of any whale, about 1/4 to 1/3 the length of its body. On North Atlantic Humpbacks, the color is usually white, with some black markings.

On Pacific Humpbacks, the color is often all black or mostly black.

Fluke (Tail): About 15 feet wide and is serrated and pointed at the tips.

Fluke Markings
Photo copyright Tom Conlin. Used with permission and gratitude.When a humpback dives deeply (called "sounding"), it usually lifts its fluke upward, exposing black and white markings on the underside, as on the photo above. These markings are unique to each whale. Considered the "fingerprints" of humpbacks, the markings make visual identification of individuals fairly easy. "The discovery of this interesting fact changed the course of cetacean research forever, and the new form of research known as "photo-identification," in which individuals are identified, catalogued, and monitored, has led to valuable information about such things as humpback whale population sizes, migration, sexual maturity, and behavior patterns." (American Cetacean Society Fact Sheet)

Photo copyright Joan Beattie. Used with permission and gratitude.Head, Mouth and Throat:
The top of the humpback's head as well as the lower jaw have a number of round, bump like knobs called tubercles, each of which has a stiff hair. At close range, these knobs make their heads look very cucumber-like. It is believed that the hairs may provide a sense of touch, but the purpose is not known for sure.

From the tip of the mouth to the navel, they have about 20-35 ventral grooves, allowing their bodies to expand tremendously while feeding. This makes their entire lower jaw area look so blown up it appears pelican-like. Inside their mouths, Photo copyright Piers van der Walt. Used with permission and gratitude.humpbacks have baleen plates, not teeth. Baleen is composed of keratin (what human fingernails are made of), and is situated in the whale's mouth in plates, hanging from each side of the upper jaw. Plates can be up to 30 inches long, black in color, and fringed on the ends. Each humpback has about 270-400 of these fringed overlapping plates. When they feed, they take in large amounts of water along with their small prey (thanks to those expanding throat grooves), pushing the water out with but their tongue but keeping the food trapped in the mouth (thanks to the fringed baleen).

Photo given to me by fellow
trip participant on Alaskan research trip.Feeding:

Humpback whales feed on krill, tiny shrimp-like crustaceans, and small fish such as sand lance (in Stellwagon Bank in the Gulf of Maine) and herring (in Alaska). Each whale eats up to 1 and 1/2 tons of food a day. Humpback calves drink about 120 gallons of milk from their mothers each day.

Photo purchased from Dancer Fleet.Breathing:

Humpbacks use their blowholes for breathing, not their mouths. Like all baleen whales, humpbacks have two blowholes, while toothed whales have one. When a whale exhales, a mist called a blow or a spout rises above the surface about 20 feet. A whale will usually blow several times before diving. Seeing these beautiful spouts is what allows us to locate the whales' position from quite a distance. Up close one can hear the peaceful "whoosh" sound of the whale breathing. But even from far way, even from land, a whale spout is an awesome sight.

Photo copyright Piers van der Walt. Used with permission and gratitude.Mating and Breeding:
Mating, giving birth and nursing occurs only in the warm, tropical waters, such as the Caribbean or Hawaii, in winter months every year. They reach sexual maturity and begin to mate at about 6-8 years of age or when males reach the length of 36 feet and females reach about 40 feet. Females typically bear a calf every 2-3 years with a gestation period of 12 months. Calves nurse on mother's rich milk of about 40% - 60% fat content. Calves are weaned to solid food at about one year old.

For more natural history information about humpback whales, consider reading Among Whales by Roger Payne or Humpback Whales by Phil Clapham.

For children consider Birth of a Humpback Whale by Robert Matero.

See our full listing of whale books including inspirational, fiction, photography, and more natural history and children’s books.

Songs of the Humpback Whale

Anyone who has ever heard a humpback singing while in the water with them knows the mystical feeling of the vibration of the whale's song moving right through one's body. Photo copyright Piers van der Walt. Used with permission and gratitude.It is a reverent and ecstatic experience.

It was biologist Roger Payne, along with Scott McVay, who discovered in the 1960's that humpback whales sing. Thanks to their pioneering work, we are all able to understand more about their songs, and to listen to the recordings when we are not blessed to actually be with them in the water

Humpback songs are probably the most complex in the animal kingdom. In biology, a song is any two or more notes that are repeated in a pattern, and consists of units of sound which combine to form what is known as a phrase. Repetition of a phrase is called a theme. A song will be made up of a number of separate themes. Themes are sung in a specific order, and the entire song will last anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour; some whales sing for hours and days at time. Katy Payne discovered that humpbacks from a single population sing the same song, changing a bit every year, completely changing about every 5 years. Chris Clark's research demonstrated that humpback songs can be heard across ocean basins from the coast of Virginia to the Norwegian Sea.

It was originally thought that only males sing as part of a mating ritual, and did so only in breeding and nursery grounds. It turns out, however, that humpbacks are also known to sing in feeding grounds where mating is not known to occur. When discovering that they sing in feeding grounds after years of assuming otherwise, Phil Clapham of Fishery Sciences Center and author of several books on whales quipped, "It tells us whales don’t read the text books, which is really annoying."

To learn more about the humpbacks' songs click here.

To listen to an actual humpback whale song click here.

Consider listening to one of the following CDs. When I want to remember moments with the whales in the sea, when I want to feel connected to their souls and feel centered in my own soul, these are the pieces I listen to. Clicking on these CD titles and covers will take you to The Animals in our Hearts Store on our sister site.

Songs of the Humpback Whale (CD)
If you want to hear just the whales without any human instrumentation or voice this is the must-have CD for you. Produced by Dr. Roger Payne, the biologist who discovered that whales sing and has studied them since the 1960‘s. "Songs of the Humpback Whale isn't the only album of humpback whale recordings, but it is the most famous -- not to mention the most influential." ~ Paul Winter

Humpback Whale Songs with Amazing Grace (CD)
by Cecilia This is a spectacular rendition of the song Amazing Grace interspersed with actual whale song recordings. The Amazing Grace song (track 6 on the CD) is played at sunset every evening on our Sacred Swim™ trips with the North Atlantic Humpbacks in their winter home in Silver Bank, off the Dominican Republic. After each miraculous day in the water swimming with the whales, we play this song on the upper deck of our dive boat at sunset as our prayer of thanksgiving to the whales.

Reiki Whale Song by Kamal (CD)
Actual songs of humpbacks, recorded by Roger Payne, are incorporated into soft, soothing, calming music suitable for healing sessions, private meditation, or for quiet background music while reading, relaxing or working. A must have CD for people who love both whales and soft meditation music. Enjoy!

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