Hawaiian Humpback Whale Facts

The humpback whale, "Megaptera noveangliae", is the fifth largest of the great whales.

The largest recorded humpback whale was an 88 foot female.

Humpbacks live from 30-50 years.

Mature female humpbacks are larger than males by a couple of feet.

Mature humpbacks normally range from 36 to 52 feet.

Adult humpback weigh up to a ton a foot, so an average adult would weigh about 40 tons.

Calves are from 10 to 16 feet long, and average 1.5 tons at birth.

A humpback can consume a ton of food a day.

The tongue of an adult humpback weighs two tons.

A humpback's upper and lower jaw is connected with ligaments rather than bone, allowing it the incredible gape achieved during feeding.

The esophagus of a humpback is much narrower than one would expect - the size of a grapefruit.

Humpback whales have excellent eyesight, both above and below water, and extraordinarily keen hearing.

Even in Hawaii's whaling heyday, the humpback was not the target: The southern whaling industry was concerned with the sperm whale.

The humpback migrations may not have occurred in the pre-Cook days - there is no mention of whales in the ancient Hawaiian record.

There were land based humpback whaling operations on Maui in the 1850's, but the fasting humpbacks gave such little return, that the business soon died.

During World War II, migrating humpbacks were used for target practice by American bombers.

The best places for whale watching from shore in Hawaii are in the "four island area" between Moloka'i, Lana'i, Kaho'olawe, and Maui.

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