NATURALIST'S 



NOTEBOOK 



By early summer, Salt will be in the Gulf of 

 Maine where she will build up her layer of blubber 

 to the optimum three to four inches. This layer of 

 blubber keeps her warm, helps her float and 

 provides nourishment throughout the year for 

 traveling, breeding and rearing young. 



Salt will eat up to 1 .5 tons of food a day. As a 

 baleen whale, she feeds by sifting out tons of tiny 

 plankton — a variety of small animals and plants 

 found near the surface in large schools. Salt also will 

 eat krill — small shrimp-like crustaceans. She feeds 

 using her 25-inch long baleen plates. Baleen is made 

 of a homy fiber similar to our fingernails — varying 

 in thickness and length depending on the species of 

 whale. j 



Salt uses air bubbles to help her feed. She will 

 dive beneath her prey and circle around blowing 

 bubbles. This circular wall of bubbles will corral the 

 prey. She will then swim for the surface, expand her 

 gigantic mouth, and engulf the concentrated school 

 of plankton or krill. 



Salt completes her feeding by taking her 

 gigantic tongue and pushing out the water in her 

 mouth, leaving the thousands of baleen-sifted 

 plankton or krill to be swallowed. 



As autumn arrives, Salt again will make her 

 annual 1,500-mile trip to the warm Caribbean 

 waters off of the Turks and Caicos Islands — known 

 as a breeding and birthing area for humpback 

 whales. She will pass through North Carolina in 

 November or December on her way south. 



Once in the Caribbean, male humpbacks will 

 launch themselves out of the water or "breach" in 

 addition to "singing" to attract Salt as a mate. 



Male humpbacks are known as the opera stars 

 of the whale world. They sing a long elaborate 

 "song" made up of groans, moans, roars, sighs, and 

 high-pitched squeaks and chirps. Humpbacks within 

 the same area will sing the same song. This song 

 will change as the season changes, and each year the 

 song varies. 



Humpback whale breeding has never been 

 documented. Scientists estimate a gestation period 

 of 10 to 12 months. 



As a new spring approaches, Salt will once 

 again travel north to feed in the Gulf of Maine. For 

 the record, Salt has had eight calves as of 2000. 

 There is Crystal (1980), Halos (1983), Thalassa 

 (1985), Brine (1987), Bittern (1989), Salsa (1991), 

 Tabasco (1998), and Mostaza (2000). 



Maybe nine now? □ 



• Why do whales strand themselves? Scientists do not know for sure. Some 

 theories: sickness, falling asleep in shallow water, suicide, earthquakes, mistakes in 

 whales magnetic navigation, storms, pollution, or confusion caused by sonar signals. 



• How long do whales live? On average, from 1 5 to 60 years, depending on the 

 species. Scientists can determine a whale's age by examining the number of layers of 

 wax from the wax plug found in their ears. 



• How long can a whale hold its breath? The sperm whale can hold its breath 

 the longest — up to two hours — thanks to its ability to conserve oxygen by storing it 

 and transferring it to organs more efficiently than humans. 



• How deep do whales dive? Depth varies depending on the food source for a 

 particular species. The sperm whale dives the deepest — up to 1 .75 miles, where they 

 hunt giant squid in the lighdess depths. 



• Which is the largest whale? The blue whale is the largest whale at 1 00 feet plus 

 and more than 220 tons. The blue whale also is the largest animal on earth. 



• How do whales communicate? They "talk" with clicks, squeals, moans, barks, 

 and singing. Whale ears are small holes in their skin behind their eyes with a waxy plug 

 inside that keeps the ear watertight and transmits sound to their inner ear. Blue whales 

 can hear their specie's distinct low "boom" more than 1 ,000 miles away. 



• What are some common whales found off of North Carolina's coast? 



Fin Whale: 56 to 79 feet, 70 tons 



- Humpback Whale: 36 to 52 feet, 40 tons 

 Pilot Whale: 25 feet, 2 tons 



Minke Whale: 29 to 33 feet, 10 tons 



Sperm Whale: 59 feet, 68 tons 

 * Length and weight of adult whales, according to Rhode Island Sea Grant's Guide to 

 Marine Mammals & Turtles of the U.S. Atlantic & Gulf of Mexico. 



• How close do whales swim to our coast? Most whales stay on the edge of the 

 continental shelf when traveling to and from breeding and feeding areas. They swim in 

 or near the Gulf Stream (40 miles off of Cape Hatteras), which helps them travel long 

 distances. Some whale spouts can be seen from the beach in Nags Head south to 

 Cape Lookout 



• Check out the sources for this information: 



- North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher, www.aquariums.state.nc.us 



- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, www.naturalsciences.org 



Rhode Island Sea Grant's Guide to Marine Mammals & Turtles of the U.S. Atlantic & 

 Gulf of Mexico. Individual copies are $25 each and can be purchased through North 

 Carolina Sea Grant by calling 91 9/51 5-91 01 . 



- Whales, by Lesley A. DuTemple, published by Lemer Publications Company 



- Great Creatures of the World: Whales, by Lesley Dow, published by Facts On File 



- Whales of the World, by Phil Chapman, published by Voyageur Press 



COASTWATCH 29 



