Whale Trust Maui Blog

Newborn Whales

Humpback babies are born into some of the most beautiful water in the world—the warm, glimmering blues of the subtropics. Typically 4 to 5 meters in length, they are, like any baby animal, cute, endearing and a little out of control. They spend most of their first few weeks traveling with their mothers as they navigate through encounters with one or many males. They alternate between bouts of energetic flipping and flopping around the mother, then resting quietly tucked under her flipper or chin, or riding (slipstreaming) above her mouth. They have challenges with coordination and diving. Sometimes they cannot reach the depths where their moms are resting and end up flopping back to the surface, floating up tail first. Often the calf will twirls its body and swim upside down.

They are also very curious. They have no fear of boats or researchers, with mothers often having to retrieve them from their explorations. While their curiosity makes them fun to watch and easy to interact with, it also puts them at risk for collisions which is one of the reasons it is so important to practice safe boating practices while whale watching.

Newborn Behaviors

Resting

Mothers with a young calf are often found resting. Typically, the mother lies in a horizontal position approximately 15 to 50 feet deep and the calf will position itself directly below the mother’s chin or tucked under a flipper. The calf needs to breathe at shorter intervals than the mother and therefore rises to the surface alone every few minutes to blow and inhale three or four times while swimming in a circular pattern above its mom. The calf then dives back down to its mother. There is frequent touching between mother and calf.

Nursing

Though grown humpbacks feed only in the summer feeding grounds, calves must feed in Hawaii and rely entirely on their mother’s milk. Calves nurse throughout their first winter, and through much of their first year of life. They can nurse either stationary or while moving—a skill that serves them well when migrating. The process of weaning is believed to begin between six and ten months of age on the summer feeding grounds, where more solid food is taken, and ends with separation from the mother after the first feeding season.

Play

Like other baby mammals, newborn humpbacks love to play! Mimicry of the mother, or the male escort, is common newborn behavior in Hawaii and includes breaches, spy hops, tail throws and other common adult behaviors. They also play with objects in their environment such as sticks, boats or even a diver! They do now, however, play with each other, and seem to be prohibited from doing so by their mothers.

Humpback Births

Despite the tens of thousands of whale-watch hours each season, as well as the presence of multiple researchers for over thirty years, a birth has not been documented. At the same time, the following evidence support the assumption that humpbacks do give birth during the migration and winter months in Hawaii: 1. Studies from whaling operations clearly show that term fetuses and birth coincide in winter months; 2. In Hawaii, observations of tiny calves with folded dorsal fins and crease marks (clearly within days if not hours of birth) are common; 3. A humpback whale placenta was found in Hawaii shortly after a very young calf appeared beside an adult; 4. One study reported the sighting of a photo-identified female without a calf on January 31 (1981) and with a calf seventeen days later on February 16 (1981), indicating a birth had occurred.

The Mom/Calf Relationship

Since the birth of a humpback whale has not been documented, the specific behavior patterns of the mother immediately before, during and after birth are not known. It is likely that the mother’s behavior is geared towards rest, nursing and protection of the young. The last of these tasks may have three fronts: 1. Avoiding, or at least controlling, interactions with sexually active males; 2. Avoiding interactions with other mothers with a calf and; 3. Guarding against potential predators. These three goals may account for much of the behavior of mother/calf pairs such as their frequent travel and their tendency to stick to the shallow, inshore waters, ostensibly to avoid harassment from males and predators.

Despite our limited knowledge, it is obvious that the bond between mother and calf is a close one. Calves rely on their mothers for food and protection and are rarely seen far away from them. They accompany their mothers across the North Pacific to distant feeding grounds and it is not until a year after their birth, either on their migration back to the breeding grounds or once arrived, that the maternal bond is broken between the mother and now juvenile whale.