Humpback Whale Migration Update: May 21, 1997

Center for coastal Studies

Greetings from the Stellwagen Bank Nat'l Marine Sanctuary. My apologies for this report. It's going to be very short -- but I promise to have a lot more information for you next week (including answers to all of your excellent questions).

A week and a half ago I attended the meeting of international whalewatch educators in Provincetown, Mass. and amassed a wealth of information about whales in other parts of the world, including humpbacks and right whales in the southern hemisphere. More on this next week.

And last week, I visited a middle school in Orleans, Mass. that is taking part in the Journey North. I brought "Lefty" my inflatable, life-sized right whale, along with a variety of hands-on activities about whales. Not only did the JN students get to see (and go inside Lefty), but so did a good portion of the school, the fourth grade from the nearby elementary school and students from the local charter school. The students at Nauset Regional Middle School are developing a right whale adoption program that you may be interested in. I'll let them explain it to you.

I also got to go out on a whalewatch last week and saw eight humpbacks (including Scylla and her calf and Pepper and her yearling), several finbacks and several minkes. At one point we were surrounded by whales from the three different species -- all feeding on the plentiful sand lance. The international whalewatch educators, for whom the trip was planned, were amazed to be able to see so many species at once.

We've had one report of a possible entangled whale in the Sanctuary (possibly a humpback but unconfirmed) and I've heard little about right whales lately.

This is an incredibly hectic week for me, because it is the time the Sanctuary sponsors its annual MIMIFest. The name may be familiar to those of you who are using the "Voyage of the MIMI" curriculum. The MIMI is a 72-foot ketch which is the "star" of a 13-part video series, textbook and related computer material. The Sanctuary is working with the Barn School (keepers of the MIMI) to provide workshops and MIMI tours for students who are using the curriculum (which covers the study of humpbacks in the Gulf of Maine -- among a number of topics). We have almost 2,000 students (over 360 a day) coming to Plymouth to take part in the daily programs.

Hopefully I'll have a bit of time next week to get back on track with humpback and right whale sightings.

Until then, this is Anne Smrcina from the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary signing off.

The FINAL Humpback Whale Migration Update Will be Provided on May 28, 1997