Whales of Summer

By Iain MacLeod on Friday, July 11, 2003.

listen:

In the summer and fall many whales call the Gulf of Maine home. Iain gives you a primer on the four species found just off of New Hampshire's coast. You'll also hear the songs of the humpback whale.

"Left Over Sea Running" is taken from Deep Voices, produced by Dr Roger Payne, founder of the Ocean Alliance.

[song of humpback whale plays]

I'm Iain MacLeod from the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, and this is Something Wild.

That sound is the song of the humpback whale. Did you know that the famous humpback is only one of four species of whales that live not far off our coast? You can also see Finback, Right, and Minke whales in the Gulf of Maine.

At 45-70 feet and about 40 tons, Finback, or fin, whales are the biggest whales in our area. Actually, they are big everywhere-only the blue whale is larger.

The Right whale was named because they were the "right" whales to hunt because they swam slowly, lived close to shore, floated when they were dead, and gave a good oil yield. The right whale is still recovering from near extinction in the early 1900s, with only about 300 individuals counted in the North Atlantic.

Minke whales are our smallest whale-they are only about 20 feet and 6 tons. They are often mistaken for dolphins and are by far the most numerous whale in the world.

Humpback whales fall somewhere in between the large finback and small minke for size.

For animals that are so recognizable and were hunted for so many centuries, it is amazing how little we know about these creatures. Here are a few fun facts:

Whales are incredibly long-lived. A right whale that was photographed in 1935 and then identified again in 1995 is the oldest non-human mammal known.

Although all of our whale species can be found in other oceans, there is no interbreeding between the populations.

One thing we are learning more about all the time is how important the Gulf of Maine is to all of our whales, especially in the summer and fall. And there are many whale-watch boats that will take you out to see them. It's a great way to spend a summer day and to enjoy these unbelievable animals.

If you have a natural history question that you would like answered on Something Wild, email us at somethingwild@ nhpr.org.

Something Wild is a joint production of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Public Radio, and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. For Something Wild, I'm Iain MacLeod.