Pacific whales and Humpback Whales in Hawaii, Tail Flukes, Breaches and pacific Whale Research and whale watching tours.

HOME WHALE SHOP RESEARCH WHALE WATCHING PHOTOS   RESEARCH North Pacific Humpback Whales Named for the arching of its back when it begins a deep dive, these graceful mammals are among the most endangered whales.  Fewer than 10% of their original population remains.  Recent efforts to protect humpbacks have resulted in a stabilization of their numbers. Humpbacks live in all oceans and migrate to warmer waters during winter where they breed and give birth to calves.  They do not feed while in the warmer waters, since their favorite foods are found in the colder waters of their summer feeding areas.  Scientists have discovered three distinct populations of humpbacks: Southern Hemisphere, North Atlantic, and North Pacific.  All are baleen whales, which use throat pleats to filter out small fish, krill, or plankton from large mouthfuls of water. The humpback's scientific name, Megaptera, means "large winged."   This refers to their long flippers, which they sometimes use to slap the water and to stroke each other.  They are incredible acrobats, and sometimes breach, or jump out of the water, landing with a mighty splash.  Scientists believe these behaviors are a form of communication, since the slapping and breaching make a lot of noise, which carries a long way underwater.  Even at a distance, the site of a 50 feet long, 40 ton mammal leaping almost completely out of the water is awe inspiring! Male Humpbacks are incredible singers, able to cover frequencies past the realm of human hearing.  Some songs last 20 minutes or more, during which the singer floats motionless, with his head angled slightly down.  The songs carry for miles underwater, and are repeated, with slight variations.   NAME: Megaptera Novaeangliae (Humpback Whale) TYPE: Baleen. FEEDING: Krill and small fish, primary herring and capelin. LENGHT:  Male 36-57ft(11-17m), Female 36-62ft (11-19m) WEIGHT: Average. Male 25 tons, Female 35 tons. At birth 2 tons. HABITAT: (Dec-May) Hawaii & Mexico. (June-Nov) South Alaska. BREEDING: Sexually mature at 4-7 yrs, Single calf born every 1-3 yrs. POPULATION: Aprox 10,000 world wide, around 4,000 in N.Pacific. LIFE SPAN: Up to 50 years or possibly older! no proven data. DIVE LENGHT: Average 4-6 minuets, up to 45 minuets. DIVE DEPTH: Up to 600ft SPEED: Can achieve 20mph, average 3-8mph FACT: Breaches more than any other Whale! The tongue of an adult humpback weighs about 2 tons! whales exhale (blow) at 300mph in a mere second!   Pacific Whales is Based in Maui Hawaii where it works closely with the migrating Humpback whale in the Hawaiian waters and offers advise on research and whale watching in Hawaii. Maui is situated perfectly to offer whale watch tours boats from its harbors in Lahaina and Maalaea, as the Whales prefer the shallower waters offered between the islands of West Maui, Lanai and Molokai. Mother and Escort Whales can be seen with the young Humpback whale Calves nursing and playing in the warm blue ocean, which is relatively free of predators. Sitemap l Contact Us. l Disclaimer.

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Pacific Humpback Whales in Hawaii, Humpback Whales.
Named for the arching of its back when it begins a deep dive, these graceful mammals are among the most endangered whales.  Fewer than 10% of their original population remains.  Recent efforts to protect humpbacks have resulted in a stabilization of their numbers.
Humpbacks live in all oceans and migrate to warmer waters during winter where they breed and give birth to calves.  They do not feed while in the warmer waters, since their favorite foods are found in the colder waters of their summer feeding areas.  Scientists have discovered three distinct populations of humpbacks: Southern Hemisphere, North Atlantic, and North Pacific.  All are baleen whales, which use throat pleats to filter out small fish, krill, or plankton from large mouthfuls of water.
The humpback's scientific name, Megaptera, means "large winged."   This refers to their long flippers, which they sometimes use to slap the water and to stroke each other.  They are incredible acrobats, and sometimes breach, or jump out of the water, landing with a mighty splash.  Scientists believe these behaviors are a form of communication, since the slapping and breaching make a lot of noise, which carries a long way underwater.  Even at a distance, the site of a 50 feet long, 40 ton mammal leaping almost completely out of the water is awe inspiring!
Male Humpbacks are incredible singers, able to cover frequencies past the realm of human hearing.  Some songs last 20 minutes or more, during which the singer floats motionless, with his head angled slightly down.  The songs carry for miles underwater, and are repeated, with slight variations.