Birth of a Baby Humpback Whale

Aloha…I’m Donnie MacGowan…I live on the Island of Hawaii, in the County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii…I love living in Hawaii because it's full of wonderful, amazing and fabulous things. For instance today, I saw a Humpback whale being born.

Winter and early spring in Hawaii are especially magical times—well, more magical even than usual in Hawaii. Starting about mid-November and lasting through April, Humpback whales visit our islands. From as far as way as Alaska and as near as California, the Humpies, as we call them, arrive to breed and, cows that bred last year, give birth this year.

An adult humpback weighs approximately one ton per foot, up to 90,000 pounds and can grow over 50 feet in length. Females are slightly larger than the males. Calves range from 10-16 feet in length at birth and weigh an average of 3000 pounds. Marine biologists believe that humpbacks live between 40-60 years.

And every year they come to visit me in my home.

On the West Hawaii coastline there is a place, and no, I’m not going to tell you where, where humpies are known to go to give birth—it’s a deep, protected cove quite near the highway. My hiking buddy and I were returning from a trip into the Kohala Mountains when we noticed several cars pulled off the road at a spot overlooking this cove. And there they were…mother and baby, still attached by umbilical cord.

The video, shot hastily and without a tripod is not great, but you can see the baby playing on it’s back, nuzzling it’s mothers teats and just generally reveling at being free and in the marvelous ocean.

I love being in the ocean…it is my place of peace, calm and meditation. But just try to imagine the joy that this baby whale felt, being born into that vast, magical and beautiful realm.

Aloha baby humpy…travel safely and come back to us next year.

For complete information on where to go the Big Island for whale and dolphin watching, visit www.tourguidehawaii.com.

For more videos of whales in Hawaii, go here, here and here.