Whales Swim Off the NC Coast During April
from NCCOAST

March and April are prime whale-watching months along the NC Coast, a time when whales migrate north from winter mating and birthing grounds in the warm waters of the Caribbean to summer feeding grounds in the cool polar waters of New England and Nova Scotia. Beaked, Minke, sei, Bryde’s, fin, sperm, pilot, humpback and the great northern right whale are all known to pass through area waters.

The most frequently sighted whale off our coast in the gigantic humpback. Black with a white throat and chest, these massive mammals can weigh 30 to 40 tons and reach lengths of up to 50 feet. Their life expectancy is 90-plus years, and their most distinguishing feature is a pair of large white flippers that measure almost a third of their entire body length.

Humpbacks are the most animated and acrobatic of the great whales and are the only whales that “sing.” Scientists don’t know how or why they sing, but their melodious yelps, moans and chirps are eerily beautiful. Humpbacks are said to have the most complex song in the animal kingdom.

The right whale, the rarest of the North Atlantic whales, has also been sighted in our waters. Only a few hundred are known to exist. This 45 to 50-ton giant got its name from whalers, who found that the huge mammal swam slowly, fed at the surface, and unlike many other whales, floated after being killed. These qualities make it the “right” whale to harvest.

Whales migrate for two reasons: to feed and reproduce. Occasionally, they linger for a few days in areas rich with fish, but mainly they stay on the move. They rely on their ears rather than their eyes to interpret their surroundings, and use echo location to determine the distance between themselves and objects, such as other whales, a ship’s hull, or their next meal. Scientists estimate whales can hear sounds 1,000 miles away.

Since the early 1990s, a sizeable population of juvenile humpbacks have been sighted during winter in the mid-Atlantic, a significant enough number in Virginia to support a whale-watching industry. Along with the increased presence of the whales came a dramatic rise in the numbers of stranded animals. From 1985 to 1989, three humpbacks stranded in the Maryland-Virginia-North Carolina areas; however from 1990 to 1994, 30 strandings were documented, an alarming increase.

Marine mammals are protected by state and federal laws. To report a stranded or dead whale or other marine mammal such as dolphin, seal or manatee, call the Marine Mammal Stranding Network at 252-728-8672.

Information and photos provided by the NC Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores, Atlantic Beach.

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