Humphrey the Whale
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Humphrey the Whale is arguably the most widely publicized humpback whale in history,[1][2] having errantly entered San Francisco Bay twice, departing from his Mexico to Alaska migration. This behavior is not normal for any Humpback whale, and Humphrey became well known on national television and press coverage for his misadventures in the years 1985 and 1990. Humphrey is a member of the species Megaptera novaeangliae, and each episode of his bay excursions resulted in a dramatic estuarine rescue of this giant mammal by the Marine Mammal Center, based in Marin County, California, assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard and hundreds of other volunteers. Humphrey (sometimes known in the media as Humphrey the humpback whale) is 40 feet (12 m) long and weighs 80,000 pounds (36 tonnes). Humphrey’s last sighting was in the vicinity of the Farallon Islands in the year 1991.
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[edit] Incidents
In 1985 Humphrey mysteriously entered San Francisco Bay and was followed closely on the evening news by all Bay Area television stations.[3] Each evening the Bay area audience would tune in for the latest update on Humphrey’s plight, until even more amazingly he swam up the Sacramento River into a freshwater habitat. Then national media coverage began and the whole country watched the ensuing chapter. The whale, first spotted at Oakland's Outer Harbor October 10, 1985, swam up the Carquinez Strait, the Sacramento River and under the Rio Vista Bridge to a dead-end slough 69 miles (111 km) from the ocean.[4] Humphrey reached the freedom of the Pacific Ocean under the Golden Gate Bridge November 4, 1985, at 4:36 p.m. The town of Rio Vista considers the Humphrey visit to have given it national recognition, and to this date there is a granite plaque at the harbor commemorating the visit and local restaurants menus remarking on his stay in Rio Vista. Humphrey stayed a considerable time in 1990 in the embayment immediately north of Sierra Point in Brisbane, California where occupants of the Dakin Building could observe his antics. Humphrey became beached on a mudflat in San Francisco Bay to the north of Sierra Point and to the south of Candlestick park. He was extricated from the mudflat with a large cargo net and support from the Marine Mammal Center and a U.S. Coast Guard boat.
Both times he was successfully guided back to the Pacific Ocean using a "sound net" in which people in a flotilla of boats made unpleasant noises behind the whale by banging on steel pipes, a Japanese fishing technique known as "oikami." At the same time, the attractive sounds of humpback whales preparing to feed were broadcast from a boat headed towards the open ocean. Researchers Louis Herman and Bernie Krause led a team of scientists who used sound recordings of natural whale feeding vocalizations to guide Humphrey back to safety. These sounds were produced for a swimming trajectory of fifty miles (80 km) until Humphrey reached the Pacific Ocean sometimes attaining speeds of thirty miles per hour (48 km/h).[5] Humphrey has been seen only once since the second misadventure, at the Farallon Islands in 1991. A film “Humphrey the Lost Whale” was produced and opened at the Tybee Island Marine Science Center, Savannah, Georgia on September 24, 2005.
[edit] Physical description
Humphrey and other Humpback whales can readily be identified by a stocky body with well defined humps and black upper elements. His head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are actually hair follicles and are characteristic of the species. The tail flukes, which are lifted high in the dive sequence, have wavy rear edges.
The long black and white tail fin, which is approximately one third of his body length, and pectoral fins has a unique pattern, which enable scientists to positively identify Humphrey, in a similar way to the bill markings on Bewick's Swans. Several hypotheses have been suggested to explain the evolution of the Humpback's pectoral fins, proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean. The two most accepted hypotheses are that the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins is a significant evolutionary advantage, or that the increased surface is useful for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates.
The Humpback Whale is a mammal which belongs to the baleen whale suborder. It is a large whale: an adult usually ranges between 12–16 m (40–50 ft) long and weighs approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 pounds), or 36 tonnes (40 short tons).[6] It is well known for its breaching (leaping out of the water), its unusually long front fins, and its complex whale song.[7] The Humpback Whale lives in oceans and seas around the world, and is regularly sought out by whale-watchers.
[edit] References
- ^ Wendy Tokuda, Humphrey the lost whale, Heian Intl Publishing Company, 1992 ISBN 0-89346-346-9
- ^ Ernest Callenbach and Christine Leefeldt, Humphrey the Wayward Whale, ISBN 0-930588-23-1
- ^ Tom Tiede, The Great Whale Rescue (An American Folk Epic), Pharos Press (hardcover), New York (1986)
- ^ Jane Kay, San Francisco Examiner Monday, Oct. 9, 1995
- ^ Toni Knapp, The Six Bridges of Humphrey the Whale. Illustrated by Craig Brown. Roberts Rinehart, 1993 (1989)
- ^ Phil Clapham, Humpback Whale, pp 589–592 in the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals ISBN 0-12-551340-2
- ^ National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World Reeves, Stewart, Clapham and Powell. ISBN 0-375-41141-0
