Humpback whale "Salt"

A humpback whale named Salt has played a particular role in our research. One of our staff and founders, Stormy Mayo, was the first scientist to observer her in the mid-1970s. The sighting occurred when he joined Aaron Avellar and the rest of the Dolphin Fleet crew in their first trips of commercial whale watching. We have since resighted and studied Salt more than any other individual whale, documenting her in all but one year since 1975. Many consider her the 'Grande Dame' of Stellwagen Bank because of the frequency with which she continues to be seen here. These longitudinal observations of Salt and other humpback whales in this region have formed the basis of our Gulf of Maine humpback whale catalog and database. In addition to her extensive sighting history in the Gulf of Maine, we have also observed Salt on her breeding ground during our research in the West Indies.

Dorsal fin of Salt (right) and her 2006 calf Soya (left). Note the white scarring on Salt's dorsal fin that seems like a coating of salt.

On that first sighting in 1975, Aaron Avellar bestoyed names on "Salt" and her companion "Pepper" based on the differences that they observed in their dorsal fins. Salt was named for white scarring on her dorsal fin that looks like a layer of salt, while "Pepper" had a black dorsal fin without scarring.  This was the basis of a now long-standing community tradition in this region in which humpback whales are named once we confirm them to be new to the population. What began on a whale watch boat (and later a small group in Stormy's living room in Provincetown) is now a large process involving scientists and naturalists from throughout the Gulf of Maine. Humpback whale naming is organized and moderated every year by the CCS Humpback Whale Studies Program and our colleages at the Whale Center of New England. Individuals continue to be named for their unique traits, although these are most often found in the pigmentation on the ventral sides of their flukes. Aaron's family still has the unique honor of naming all of Salt's calves. As seen below, these names are all related to salt (or other condiments) in some way.

Longitudinal studies of large whales provide important life history information that is difficult to obtain otherwise. These include data on age, reproductive histories and other important life events. Over the years, Salt has produced many calves, two of which have had calves of their own. Their names and birth years are shown below. These observations of Salt and her lineage have been part of many scientific studies that have improved the understanding of this population and humpback whales more generally. These have ranged from studies of basic biology, population vital rates, animal behavior, molecular genetics and the development of new techniques like aging. As just one example, genetic samples that we collected from Salt and her calves proved for the first time that female humpbacks are promiscuous (their calves do not have the same fathers).  For more details, see our scientific publication on this subject (Clapham and Palsbøll 1997).