Humpback whales
Humpback whales Fascinating facts
Tanzania is famous the world over for its annual giant migration of grazers across the Serengeti, but there is another equally miraculous journey that reaches the Indian Ocean waters off the coast of Zanzibar. Between June and December herds of humpback whales and their calves reach the archipelago on migrations that can reach up to 8,000 km. It’s a sight that Ekaterina Kalashnikova, who is the general manager of luxury hotel Zanzi Resort and a marine biologist, has been lucky enough to see many times. Here she shares some amazing facts about these playful leviathans of the sea. Images courtesy of: @Pavel Kalashnikov
Humpback whales have developed their own unique communication methods
perhaps much more than that – if we
to get to know you a bit closer, let’s share
Humpbacks don’t eat for almost six months and while fasting travel incredible distances!
Humpback species are notoriously vocal,
these warm and safe waters for increas-
These majestic marine nomads undertake
and their acoustic repertoire is diverse and
ing abundance of our population’). This
annual migrations covering thousands
impressive, including complex signature
is where we start to see how they form
of kilometres from high-latitude summer
songs that may last for hours. But apart
complex social bonds and share the culture
feeding grounds, where they take advan-
from these voice messages that whales use
of communication – their own WhatsApp-
tage of the food resources of vast swarms
for socialising and conveying information,
PecSlap messaging network.
of krill, to low-latitude winter breeding
could speak their behavioural language we would probably hear something like ‘I have arrived, I am attractive and ready
they also have their own way of ‘texting’
grounds, where they mate, give birth,
each other. They use pectoral fin slapping
nurse, and generally do not feed. When
for this. It’s a noisy, splashy event that is
southern hemisphere humpbacks are
incredible to witness. Usually a female
in tropical waters (southern hemisphere
whale will lie on her side, raise her long
winter), the northern hemisphere hump-
pectoral fin into the air and provocatively
back whales are feeding at high latitudes
slam it back to the surface, producing a
(northern hemisphere summer). This situ-
sound familiar (and desirable) to male
ation reverses after six months. Each year
whales. No doubt, she’s flirting! So-called
from June to December humpbacks are
pec-slapping is one of the many intricate
observed along the Tanzanian coastline
ways of a non-vocal communication that
and the Zanzibar and Pemba channels
they use to say ‘hello’ to each other (and
where they come to breed and… to fast.
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Paa Tanzania
