A humpback whale was captured on camera as it traversed the coastline of Garden City Beach, as seen through the lenses of Myrtle Beach State Park’s surveillance.
This week, the humpback whale was officially spotted twice, once in Garden City and another time at the Myrtle Beach State Park pier.
Humpback Whale news coverage
On Saturday morning, an 8-second video of a whale breaching about 20 feet offshore in Garden City was shared by the official X account of Myrtle Beach State Park. Later in the day, officials reported the sighting of another creature near the pier.
Humpback Whale breaches in Garden City Beach
The humpback whale was STILL swimming off Garden City all day yesterday and fairly close to shore in 23 feet of water! pic.twitter.com/fqQpa06TgX
— Myrtle Beach State Park (@MyrtleBeachSP) November 23, 2024
From June to September, the North Atlantic Ocean becomes the residence of the world’s biggest congregation of humpbacks. Newfoundland and Labrador serve as their home during this period. Throughout the winter, certain humpbacks continue to inhabit the deep bays of this area, where they hunt herring and other marine creatures. It is probable that these humpbacks staying over the winter are female whales seeking to take a break from breeding.
From October through late April, the humpback whales depart their feeding grounds in the north Atlantic and embark on a seasonal migration down into the Myrtle Beach coast towards the Caribbean and Dominican Republic, Azores, and the west coast of Africa.
Covering thousands of miles, they reach the warmer waters of these regions where they engage in activities such as mating, calving, and nursing their young in the nurturing tropical environment.
Humpback whales reach reproductive maturity between 4 and 8 years old. The North Atlantic humpback whales breed in the Caribbean, specifically in locations like the Silver Bank Whale Sanctuary near the Dominican Republic. In this area, female humpbacks give birth to their calves, which measure around four meters (13 feet) in length. At birth, the calves weigh approximately two tons and experience rapid growth. The mother nourishes her newborn with about 40kg (100 lbs) of milk daily. Calves nurse for a period of five to seven months before they are weaned. Following weaning, the calf’s length doubles and its weight increases fivefold, reaching a size of about 5 meters (26 feet) and 10 tons.
Female humpback whales typically give birth to one calf every two to three years. It is likely that many of the humpback whales that spend the winter off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador are females taking a break from the demands of reproduction. The estimated average lifespan of wild humpbacks is 30 to 40 years, although the exact duration remains unknown.
