Humpback whale finds smorgasbord along coast

By BARBARA TAORMINA

Times staff

Gore's recounts, Bush's lawsuits and other election spectacles were upstaged yesterday by a juvenile humpback whale that spent the day swimming along the coast of Gloucester.

The unusual visit by the 30-foot whale was not completely unexpected since it has spent the last two months traveling up the North Shore, impressing residents of both Salem and Boston. The Whale Center of New England, formerly Gloucester's Cetacean Research Unit, has been keeping tabs on the whale, which has been feeding, swimming, breaching and otherwise doing fine.

"The whale has been hugging the coastline for the past two and a half months, probably because there's good fish to feed on," said Mason Weinrich, director of the Whale Center.

According to Weinrich, the young whale is not lost and is having no trouble managing its appearances along the waterfront.

"Humpback whales are sometimes solitary animals," said Weinrich, who added the whales generally leave their mothers after a year. He believes the visiting whale is probably 2.

The Whale Center staff has been watching to make sure the whale stays clear of entanglements and other problems while it's so close to shore.

"There is some concern about the number of lines and moorings that it has been going through but it's been doing it for a couple of months now," said Weinrich. "It's a concern but this whale knows what it's doing."

As for the 15-ton whale, it's not uncommon for humpbacks to spend the spring, summer and fall feeding on herring and sand eels along the New England coast before they start their winter trek south to breeding grounds in the Caribbean.

The whales, which can be recognized by the knobs on their heads and snouts and by their long, thin flippers and dorsal fins, are a summer favorite for whale-watch tours because of their acrobatics.

Although humpbacks are an endangered species still recovering from decades of intensive worldwide hunting that took place as recently as the late '50s, Weinrich believes the outlook for the species is good.

"There are about 10,000 humpbacks and the population seems to be recovering," he said. "Right now the species seems to be doing reasonably well."

Weinrich and the Whale Center staff will continue to monitor the whale during its visit. Meanwhile, like others who watched the animal from different spots on the waterfront yesterday, Weinrich is enjoying the humpback's company.

"This is a great opportunity for people to see a whale," he said.