Top 50 Humpback Whales
of the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary
The
list of whales at the right includes the most dependable returnees
to the Sanctuary every summer. Many of them are females, who can
be counted on to bring their new calves up to Stellwagen Bank.
It is in the Sanctuary that the mother whales feast on nutritious
sand lance and teach their offspring to hunt.
This
list was developed by the Center for Coastal Studies Humpback
Whale Research Group based on a scientific study of return rates
of whales based on decades of sighting data. The highest rates
of return are used as an indicator of future returns. Several
other whales (noted by the * asterisk) have been added because
of their recent behaviors and/or interesting life stories.
Where
possible, the whales have family histories detailed in a special
extra table.
NOTES:
fs
= first sighted
yob
= year of birth
yod
= year of death
#
at the top of page is the whale's Catalog Number (from: Catalog
of the Humpback Whales of the Gulf of Maine)
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