Safari.. Vulnerable species.. Acrobatics.. Songs.. Food..

The humpback whales or megaptera (Megaptera novaeangliae) are whales endowed with very long pectoral fins. They eat in cold seas and reproduce in hot waters like in Sainte Marie. Every year, from July to September, an important number of these cetaceans gather around the Sainte Marie channel to court, mate, deliver their young and educate them.

That the Sainte Marie's whales sanctuary may live and last

Also named in French "jubarte", "whale with peg", "rorqual with bump" or "rorqual of the Cape" in French, this vulnerable giant is called Great God: "Zagnaharibe" or "Trozona" by the Malagasy people who respect it and protect it. Every year, big festivities take place during the whales season. HSM group is actively committed in safeguarding the Sainte Marie whales sanctuary. Your stay with us will also contribute.

Go for a safari

A briefing is given by the ecoguide before the expedition. Loading is half an hour afterwards and the adventure starts. The first located breaths enable you to find the giants, the captain slowly moves the ship to get closer for you to appreciate one of the most splendid shows of your life. Is it the immense curious and fixed eye of an immature a few meters from you, the jumping parade of a male or the caress of a mother accompanying her young in his first movements? It is certain that from now on you are an integral part of a research team and have an active role to play. You respect the rules of observation (code of good behaviour) and take part in the collection of information.

Number of individuals, behaviors, identifying caudals, directing individuals, diving lengths, exact place (GPS) of observation, squames collect, listening and recording songs are as many scientific data which will be used after for research, monitoring ecological development and thus whales protection.

Rates

Vulnerable species

The number of humpback whales in the world has been considerably reduced (150 000 to 12 000 individuals in 1988) by the commercial hunt which has been banished from oceans in 1966. Today, threats hanging over this animal which can normally live until 75 years, mainly comes from big fishing nets, collisions with boats and military sonars. Unfortunately some countries attempt to take up again this commercial hunt. Because it represents an economic alternative to hunting, commercial and supervised observation (cf. code of conduct) contributes to the protection of the whales. HSM group participates in safeguarding and the protecting this vulnerable animal by action within protective whales associations.

Acrobatic behaviour

Sometimes the humpback whales express themselves by spectacular gestures, like striking the pectoral fins or the caudal on water ("flippering "), ("tail-slapping "), exiting the head over of surface ("spy-hopping "), jumping ("breaching ") sometimes completely out of the water. These behaviours which have various significances (love parade, communication, removal of parasitic shellfishes, marking zone, intimidation, inspecting the surroundings, etc..) are magnificent passes of the ballet of whales and we invite you with pleasure to see it .

Whales' songs

Listen to the whales songs:
Songs in trumpet (224 Ko)
Plaintive songs (369 Ko)
Short songs (160 Ko)

In tropical waters, the humpback whale gives out a big variety of sounds, with harmonious sequences composed of very distinct syllables. Mysteriously these melodies are as dialects, with different versions depending on regions and herds. From one year to another, the males take the fashionable sequences of the previous year and introduce some variants. The manner of which these sounds are produced is still strange and unknown because the jubarte doesn't possess any vocal cords.

Food

Megaptera mainly eats krill and fishes in the icy waters. They filter large quantities of water containing nourishing organisms or use methods of collaborative hunt as the "net of bubbles". This technique allows to surround some shoals of fishes thanks to the bubbles given out by drivers located below. After spending the summer in the feeding areas, the groups set course for tropical seas to mate and to deliver, and to allow their nursing offspring to develop the necessary quantity of grease before returning to the cold waters. An adult humpback whale weighs about 30 tons and can reach 18 meters.

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