Most baleen whales are great travelers, making seasonal migrations from feeding grounds near the poles to tropical breeding areas. It is during these migratory treks that whale watchers are most likely to see one of these giants of the sea. One of the most predictable migrators of the great whales is the humpback. The upcoming winter months of December and January are prime times to spot these huge creatures as they travel southward through our coastal waters to the warmer waters of the Caribbean where they will breed or give birth. During this northward migration, humpbacks pass through the waters of North Carolina during March and April.
Humpbacks tend to swim near shore during migration, increasing the likelihood of a sighting.
They are the most animated and acrobatic of the great whales. Humpbacks lift their 40 ton bodies almost completely out of the water in a dramatic behavior called breaching. These graceful giants are also the most vocal of the baleen whales, producing an elaborate melody of moans, yelps, and chirps that make up the most complex song in the animal kingdom. Sperm whales, which reach a length of 50 feet and weigh about 40 tons, remain widespread in the coastal waters of the Atlantic despite a huge drop in their numbers from whaling activity earlier this century. Their smaller cousins, the pygmy sperm whale and the dwarf sperm whale, are rarely spotted in Carolina waters but this may be due to their preference for deeper waters.