The humpback whale’s scientific name Megaptera novaeangliae, carries a sense of magic. The two words “Mega,” meaning giant, and “Ptera,” meaning wing in ancient Greek, perfectly describe these colossal, winged beings that soar through the deep blue. Imagine for a moment if novaeangliae translated to “new angel”—these gentle giants would become the ocean’s winged angels, leaping towards heaven and singing hymns in the deep. But instead, the name traces back to something far less poetic: New England, where the first European whalers encountered them.
The final moratorium on commercial whaling was passed in 1985, by which time, the populations of humpback whales were greatly reduced. Since then, the southern hemisphere humpback whale population has recovered to 70% of its original size.
International Whaling Commission assesses cetacean status by population in specific regions, as the groups never mix, and some may be more threatened than others. Within a single whale population, groups are further broken down into stocks.
The C1 stock migrates from the Antarctic feeding grounds, up the eastern coast of southern Africa through the protected waters of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Maputo National Park, to the Sofala Banks off the coast of Madagascar to mate and calve.
The pregnant females, often with young, then swim thousands of kilometers back down south to the nutrient-rich polar feeding grounds to gestate and gain sufficient strength to repeat the process, every year.
Recent research has proposed that whales embark on this, one of the longest annual migrations on our planet, because their biggest natural predators, killer whales and great white sharks, cannot follow them into warm tropical waters because they are cold-water species.
This series of stunning images was captured by Wings for Conservation in an aerial survey in mid-September, the beginning of the northward migration season. They fly regular aerial surveys along Maputo National Parks’Environmental Protection Zone, which stretches three nautical miles out to sea, to monitor fishing vessel presence, and, of course, to see, count, and document the marine creatures that cruise along the surface waters of this exquisite coastline.
During this flight, 83 whales were counted in an 80 km stretch of protected water between Ponta Mamoli and Inhaca Island. At one whale per kilometre, sightings are almost guaranteed at this time of year whether from the shore at one of the Parks coastal lodges at Anvil Bay, Ponta Membene or Millibangala Montebelo or with any of the Park accredited whale and dolphin operators operating from Ponta do Ouro or Ponta Malongane.
It is estimated that today there are about 80 000 individuals traversing southern Africa’s east coast and the population is growing well.
“It is incredible that these creatures were protected before they were lost, and it is truly wonderful that they have a magnificent stretch of protected transboundary coastline running from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in South Africa through the Maputo National Park, to traverse on their annual migration. These protected areas are accessible to tourists, and we invite you to come and visit Maputo National Park to witness the majesty,” says Miguel Goncalves, Park Warden for Maputo National Park.
Mozambique’s National Administration for Conservation Areas (ANAC) and Peace Parks Foundation have been working together to protect this coastline for these winged giants and other miraculous ocean creatures such as the mythical dugong, since 2005. Thanks to generous funding and support primarily from Reinet Foundation, Blue Action Fund, Total Energies and Camoes, Mozbio and Biofund as well as contributions from the Friends of the Park Club members, which the Park encourages more regional businesses to join,this protected, biodiverse region has even been submitted for consideration as a World Heritage Site.
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