Whales of Costa Rica

General Info:

 There are three distinct populations of whales seen off Costa Rica’s Pacific shores. These whales do not intermix with one another.  The three populations (one from the north Pacific, one from the north Atlantic and one from the Southern hemisphere) follow distinct migration paths annually from their cold water, summer feeding grounds to warmer waters during winter months for breeding. 

Whales that feed along the California coast north to Alaska migrate south to Costa Rica and Mexico. Humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) migrate in groups of three to four, but may be found in groups up to twelve at their breeding grounds.  Humpback whales regularly breach and slap the water with their fins, making a ton of noise that is believed to be part of their communication with one another, as the sound travels long distances under water. 

Behavior:

Humpback whales are well known for their singing.  Songs may last up to 20 minutes and are often repeated for several hours, usually during the winter breeding season.   All male whales sing the same song, despite great distances between groups in the population.  The song changes slightly from year to year and as the song changes, all males sing the new version.    

While singing, male whales float “suspended in the water, head down and relatively motionless” (The Marine Mammal Center, Humpback Whales).  They have a wide-ranging ability to sing in many octaves, some with frequencies beyond the ability of human hearing. 

Physical Characteristics:

Humpback whales are unique in that they have wart-like round bumps on their head forward of the blowhole and on the edges of their flippers.  Their tale flukes have unique patterns much like fingerprints that may be used to identify individuals.  Humpback whales were named so because of the hump shape on their dorsal fin.  They have noticeably long flippers.

These enormous beauties are between 49 and 52 feet long, weighing between 35-50 tons, with the females are usually larger than the males. They filter feed using baleen plates consuming tons of fish including mackerel, cod, sardines and other schooling fish.  Humpbacks are also known for using “bubble-nets” to catch their prey.  One or more individuals blows a ring of bubbles from its blow- hole, encircling a school of fish.  As the bubbles rise, the humpbacks swim up through the bubble net's center and feed on the prey trapped inside.

Mating:

Females reproduce every two years or more, producing one young that then nurses for eight to eleven months.  Pregnancies last for 12 months.  Humpback whales are endangered, with less than 10% of their original population remaining. 

Other whale species may also be encountered including, sei whales, fin whales, Bryde's whales and Cuvier's beaked whales.

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