1. THE HUMPBACKThe Humpback Whale Foundation News
Arabian Sea
Humpback
Whale
The Arabian Sea humpback whale
may be the most isolated humpback
population on the planet, keeping its
home in the same place for tens of
thousands of years. That’s the conclu-
sion reached in a new study of the ma-
rine mammal conducted by a research
team from the Wildlife Conservation
Society and the American Museum of
Natural History.
The whale, currently classified as
“Endangered” on the International
Union for Conservation of Nature’s
(IUCN) Red List of threatened
species, has proved difficult to study
due to a limited amount of data from
which to work. But the authors of a
study just published in the journal
PLOS ONE were able to analyze
tissue samples from 67 Arabian Sea
humpback whales, focusing on both
mitochondrial and nuclear DNA.
The team then compared its genet-
ic analyses with existing data from
humpback whale populations in both
the Southern Hemisphere and the
North Pacific. They found that the
Arabian Sea humpback is highly dis-
tinct from the Southern Hemisphere
and North Pacific populations.
Meanwhile, the team’s analysis of
the gene flow of the creature suggest-
ed the Arabian Sea humpback origi-
nated in the Southern Indian Ocean.
December 1, 2014
Editor, Camilla Bryant
Young Humpback
catches air in laguna
beach
In three decades of watching marine mammals in the ocean, Capt.
Tom White has never seen a humpback whale as acrobatic as the juve-
nile creature that propelled itself out of the water on a recent day.
White, who guides charters for Dana Wharf Sportsfishing and
Whale Watching in Dana Point, had seen the whale on Nov. 28, cruis-
ing along in the water in Laguna Beach.
But the next day, the humpback jumped to life - literally. It
breached 31 times, to the delight of spectators who had their cameras
out, with one lucky photographer catching the whale out of the water,
making it look like it was levitating on the ocean surface.
“Humpbacks are known for being an acrobatic whale,” White said.
“He did that one breach where he got his whole body out of the wa-
ter.” In his 37 years as a boat captain, it was a first for White.
Humpback whales are not usually in the area this time of year, as
they travel to the more
tropical waters of Mex-
ico or Hawaii to mate.
But our local water
temperature - which
is lingering around 65
degrees - seems to be
keeping them around.
Usually, water temps
are around 59 degrees
this time of year.
White said there’s
also a healthy amount
of anchovies in local
waters.
“I have a feeling the
anchovies are keeping
them around because
there’s still lots of food
for them to eat.”
Young humpback swimming with it’s mother