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Late -Winter Update
Many of you have been contacting us inquiring as to the whereabouts of Sockeye, Badge, Shark and Owl in the past couple of months. Unfortunately, we don’t see our favorite whales from December through March. It is during this time of year that most of the humpbacks in our area make their annual migration to the Caribbean to mate and if pregnant, bear their calves. Our favorite whales are probably enjoying the blue, Caribbean waters even as you read this, not to return to our area until sometime in April or May. We are anxiously awaiting the coming whale watch season and will certainly let you know as soon as any of the sponsored ones make his or her presence known!This is also the time of year that any new juveniles and calves from the past year are given their names. The chosen name is used by all of the researchers on the East Coast for the rest of the whale’s life (which for humpbacks is 40-60 years). The 1998 calves of both Shark and Owl just received their names on March 27th during the annual whale-naming conference. After being weaned from their respective mothers in November or December, it’s only fair that they get their own identities before we see them again.
Shark’s 1998 calf was appropriately named "Hammerhead". Not only is this obviously an extended-family name, it also describes a black marking on the left side of the tail that resembles the shape of a hammerhead shark's head.
Owl’s 1998 calf was named "JIB". This unique name stems from the fact that there are three markings on the left side of the tail that look like a capital J and lower case I and B. There aren’t many whales that have markings that look like letters so we took advantage of it this time!
Click on the highlighted links below to see pictures of Hammerhead and JIB!
SOCKEYE
Sockeye was seen briefly on Stellwagen Bank Sockeye is named for a deformity of his jaw that mimics the Sockeye Salmon. Sockeye's smaller upper jaw actually fits down inside his huge lower jaw, creating a whale-sized underbite! Sockeye was first sighted in 1984, and has grown into a healthy adult male. His odd jaw has definitely not impaired his feeding ability!
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| Spring Unfortunately, we have not been lucky enough to see Sockeye yet this year. This definitely does not mean that something has happened to him. It is always a possibility that he has been out there, but we just have not seen him yet. Just remember- there are still 4 months of the season left. Keep your fingers crossed and we'll let you know if we see him at all during July and August! July August Fall Unfortunately, Sockeye was not sighted the rest of the year. Stay tuned to see if he shows up in the spring of 2000! |
OWL
Owl greets us on our spring research trip Owl is named for two black dots on either side of her tail, resembling owls' eyes. Owl was first sighted as a calf in 1986 with her mother, Falco. Owl gave birth to her first calf in 1993, and her second in 1998.
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| Spring Owl has been seen on several occasions both on Stellwagen Bank and Jeffrey's Ledge. She was first sighted on April 21 breaching and flipper-slapping, our first humpback sighted for the year! Almost a month later (May 20) she was sighted milling and deep feeding with three other whales, Crystal, Entropy, and Bolide. She was sighted several times on Stellwagen Bank in the ensuing weeks. On May 21, she was seen travelling with 2 adult males named Rocker and Tribble and later in the day was sighted deep feeding and travelling with Rocker. On May 22, she was deep feeding and socializing with 4 other whales (including an adult female named Wizard). On May 26, she was involved in a large feeding aggregation of over 6 whales from mid-morning to early afternoon. Owl, Salt, Mural, Crown and at least two others were observed lunge feeding on sand eels at the water surface. What an impressive sight- 6 adult humpback whales cooperatively lunge feeding on sand eels at the water surface! This activity was also observed the next day. In this case, Owl was joined by Mural, Cardhu, Crown, and Rune. All five whales were lobtail feeding on sand eels right at the surface and coming up with their mouths wide open! Later that afternoon, the feeding aggregation tripled in size! Owl, Loon, Salt, Mural, Bandit, Spoon, and others were again lunge feeding at the surface! We did not see Owl again until about a month later when she was seen breaching and flipper-slapping with another adult female humpback named Fan. Our most recent sighting of Owl was on June 19, when she was observed travelling very quickly on Jeffrey's Ledge. We have also been fortunate enough to get some nice close looks at Owl's calf from last year, JIB. JIB was seen on June 2 resting at the surface. Though the underside of JIB's tail has darkened considerably, we were still able to see the marking it was named for. July August Fall Owl was seen quite often throughout September on Stellwagen Bank. On September 4, she was seen deep feeding with Tunguska, the 1997 calf of Leukos and was later joined by Pepper, an adult female. Later on in the afternoon, the three were joined by an adult male named Alphorn, in which many of the group were heard trumpet-blowing, a high-pitched sound usually expressing excitement or agitation! Surprisingly on September 5, the only one from the group remaining with Owl was Alphorn. Both were seen resting at the surface. At some point, Alphorn and Owl parted ways as she was seen on the 6th traveling and feeding with another adult female named Fan. Both looked extremely round - we can only hope that they are both pregnant! After disappearing for nearly a week, Owl was again sighted on September 12, feeding with 4 other whales including Pepper, Tornado and Echo (all adult females). September 14 found her deep-feeding and traveling with Lacuna, the 1996 calf of Dome. Owl's last sighting of the year was back on Jeffrey's Ledge on October 3. She was seen resting with one of the largest female humpbacks in the population, Spoon (estimated length - 63'!). Stay tuned to see if Owl is sighted in the spring of 2000!
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SHARK
Shark has been scarce on Stellwagen this year Shark is named for the black markings on the tip of the right side of her tail that resemble the profile of a shark's face. Shark was first sighted as a calf in 1983 with her mother, Apex. Shark has had four calves. |
| Spring Though we have not seen Shark yet this year, we have seen two of her calves. On May 21, Hammerhead, Shark's calf from last year was sighted deep feeding and travelling amongst a group of juveniles. Just over a week later (June 2), Hale-Bopp, Shark's calf from 1996 was seen travelling and deep feeding with an adult female named Nile and a juvenile humpback named Extreme. They were later joined by Pylon, a juvenile female first sighted in 1997. ***UPDATE*** While trying to identify a number of whales whose identities eluded us, we discovered that one of these individuals was Leaf, Shark's calf from 1994! This was our first sighting of Leaf since it was seen with Shark on Jeffrey's Ledge that year! Leaf was seen traveling alone on Stellwagen Bank on April 17th and again, May 17th, traveling with Midnight. While its fluke has darkened quite a bit, it looked very healthy! July August Fall After being gone throughout the month of August, Shark showed up on Jeffrey's Ledge on September 3, traveling with another of our adoption whales, Badge! She was seen again on September 4, slow traveling (a resting behavior) with two other adult females, Milky Way and Spoon. During the time we observed them, Shark refused to dive when Spoon and Milky Way went under, seemingly challenging Spoon's apparent role as leader. Many trumpet blows (usually a sign of excitement or aggitation) were heard coming from both Spoon and Shark! The next day, all three were sighted again as Spoon seemingly remained in control! ***UPDATE*** Recent analysis revealed that Shark and Badge were sighted traveling on the Northern end of Stellwagen Bank earlier in the day on September 3! It's pretty amazing to see how much humpacks will travel in a couple of hours to find food! While that was the last sighting of Shark for the year, her extended family was sighted throughout the fall season. Apex and her calf were sighted feeding with another mother, Tenedor, and three others on September 11th before splitting from the group so that her calf could nurse. Clamp, Shark's half-sister, was sighted on Jeffrey's Ledge on September 11 and 19 and again on October 1 with Spoon! Those of you that have been following Shark and her family may recall that Spoon and Clamp were sighted together in the fall of 1998! It's always exciting to see whales reassociate with one another year after year. We may not ever know how or why they do it, but it has been documented over and over! |
BADGE
Badge makes a close approach while feeding Badge is named for the black markings on the left side of the tail that look like a badge on a military uniform. Badge was first sighted in the feeding area off of Gloucester in 1987 - small at the time, she was probably a calf in 1986. |
| Spring Unfortunately, we have not been lucky enough to see Badge yet this year. This definitely does not mean that something has happened to Badge. It is always a possibility that she has been out there, but we just have not seen her yet. Just remember- there are still 4 months of the season left. Keep your fingers crossed and we'll let you know if we see her at all during July and August! July August Fall The last sighting of Badge occurred on Jeffrey's Ledge on September 3. She was seen traveling with another of our adoption whales, Shark! Stay tuned to see if we sight Badge in the spring of 2000! ***UPDATE*** Recent analysis revealed that Shark and Badge were sighted earlier in the day on September 3, traveling on the Northern end of Stellwagen Bank! It's pretty amazing to see how much humpacks will travel in a couple of hours to find food! |
There are many ways to help support CORE's research. An avenue you may choose is to donate your time and expertise by becoming an intern or volunteer.
You may also show your support by joining us on one of our special research trips. Each summer, CORE conducts offshore trips - full day, overnight and three day excursions to areas that we are unable to reach during our regular trips. Participation in these offshore excursions not only helps CORE, but enriches your whale experiences, as well!
In kind donations are also a terrific help to our research. For instance, if you have a video camera, slide projector or even a printer, we can use it!
Becoming a member of CORE is yet another way to help our research continue. With monies raised through memberships, CORE can procure additional equipment and can also conduct dedicated research trips during the off-season.Please ask a CORE researcher for further details if you are interested in helping CORE in any of the above ways! We do appreciate it!
We hope you feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing that your donations will directly fund CORE's mission to promote stewardship and the conservation of cetaceans and their marine environment.
Thank you very much!
There are four ways you can sponsor a whale: aboard any whale watch boat, at the ticket office, by mail, or by e-mail! Simply click here to access a printable form. Adoptions last for one year, and cost $25.
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