By Sofia Pluciennik
If you are in Sydney, you are lucky to be right in the middle of the Humpback Highway! This means every year; you’ll get the chance to watch a bit of their massive journey through the ocean. Humpback whales migrate every year from Antarctica to warm waters around the world, and that is absolutely essential for the survival of their species. Let me briefly tell you about their Whale Beginnings and Giant Futures.
Humpback Whale Calves: Birth, Growth, and Nursing in Eastern Australia
There are many humpback populations around the globe, but let’s focus on the Eastern Australian population, the ones we get to hang out with! These guys are born at the Great Barrier Reef, in warm, shallow, protected water, always from predators like orcas and from cold Antarctic waters where they need to be big and strong to survive. The calves are born tail first, at about 4 to 5 meters and about 1.5 tons. It is only one baby per gestation, which is absolutely fair considering their size!
As mammals do, as soon as they are born, they start feeding on their mothers’ milk, which will occur from 6 months to a year! They can drink about 400 litres of milk every day, growing up to 50 kg daily!
Humpback Whale Life Cycle: From Calves to 50-Ton Adults
The babies will travel with their moms for the next two years, during which time they will learn the migration pattern and all the behaviours needed to be successful grown-up whales. After two years of mom-and-baby partnership, they are on their own, and the mom is ready to have another baby.
Whales will follow the migration every year, but only reach sexual maturity when they are about 5 to 10 years old. Once the get to that age, they will start to look for mates during migration. Females will usually have one baby every three years. One year they will migrate and get pregnant, the gestation will last another year, then another year taking care of the calf before they are ready to get pregnant again. Females usually stop having babies when they reach their 40s to fifties and continue to live from 60 to 80 years.
A full-grown humpback whale will average 12 to 17.5 meters and weigh up to 50 tons! Lucky for us, we get to see them in all life stages and sizes, from cute, tiny babies to massive beautiful elderly whales. I hope you enjoyed this very brief overview of their lives; join us to learn more details and see it with your own eyes!
