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26 Maui Whale Watch Magazine • WhaleWatchingOnMaui.com From baby to adult First Year Six to Ten Years Adult Humpback At Birth After 11 months inside mama, they come out at about 10-20 feet in length weighing up to 2.5 tons. If you see a tiny whale with a bent flipper, you're looking at a newborn calf. While learning how to eat fish, the calf nurses, drinking up to 130 gallons of milk each day. Each month they put on as much as 2,000 pounds in weight and grow a foot in length. By the end of the first year, that adolescent can expect to be as large as 24 feet and 26,000 pounds - now that's a big baby! This is when humpbacks are considered to have reached their maturity and are able to have babies of their own. At this stage, a male will be around 35 feet, and females average about 40 feet - yes, the girls are bigger! Fully grown humpbacks reach up to 62 feet long and tip the scales at 79,000 pounds. On average, moms have a baby every couple of years. If they don't get caught in nets, hit by a boat, or killed by a predator, humpbacks can live as long as 80 years. That means over their life, a humpback could theoretically have 35 or more children. Can you imagine? G ROWTH CHART Humpback moms always stay close to their calves. Photo by Marty Wolff Need we say more? HALL of FAME Alii Nui 2015 2 0 0 1 • 2 0 1 2 • 2 0 1 3 • 2 0 1 4 • 2 0 1 5 MAUI'S LUXURY SAILING CATAMARAN weddings & events Private SNORKEL CHARTERS Exclusive SERVICE Impeccable FEAST DINNER SAIL Royal SUNSET SAIL Romantic WHALE WATCHING Exciting WHALE WATCHING Exciting