Hawaii is a great place to visit and live, not only for the people kind, but the giant mammals of the sea. Every year Hawaii has the migration of the Humpback Whale. They come from the food rich waters of Alaska to the warm ocean water around Hawaii to Mate and give birth. It is not uncommon to be sitting in our dinning room and see these giants leap (breech) out of the water. When out playing in the ocean, December thru March, you have to share the coastal bays with them.
Most of the North Pacific stock of humpback whales winter in three near shore lower latitude mating and calving areas: Hawaii, western Mexico and the islands of southern Japan. During the spring and summer they migrate as far as 3,000 miles to feeding areas over the continental shelf of the Pacific Rim, from the coast of California north to the Bering Sea (between Alaska and Siberia). Humpbacks continuously travel at approximately three to seven miles per hour with very few stops. The main Hawaiian Islands may contain the largest seasonal population of North Pacific humpbacks in the world.
Humpback whales feed during the summer in northern waters (between approximate latitudes of 40-75° N). The cool, nutrient rich waters around Alaska provide ideal feeding locations. Humpback whales have plate-like bristles known as baleen in their mouth instead of teeth. They feed on krill and small schooling fishes, such as capelin and herring. A variety of feeding methods are used including bubble net feeding and lunge feeding. Humpbacks rarely feed in their wintering areas and it is not known if they feed along their migratory routes.
Hawaii is the only state in the United States where humpback whales mate, calve, and nurse their young. Humpbacks may find Hawaii suitable because of the warm waters, the underwater visibility, the variety of ocean depths, and the lack of natural predators. Mothers can be seen breaching alongside their calves and males can be seen competing with one another for females in fierce head-to-head battles.
Every year you see the news stories of people getting to
close and having encounters that do not work out well for the human. We have
been crossing Kealakekua Bay and encountered whales that
just scare the hell out of you for their big size. While diving, you can here
the songs that they are famous for singing.
In 1993 it was estimated that there were 6,000 whales in the North Pacific Ocean, and that 4,000 of those came to Hawaii. Through an international ban on commercial whaling and protections under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the North Pacific humpback whale population now numbers more than 21,000. The population of humpback whales that uses Hawaii’s waters as their principle wintering ground is likely more than 10,000 animals. Come see for yourself. Aloha
