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The Samaná Peninsula is located at the extreme northeast of the Dominican Republic. Unique, different and beautiful, it is geologically the oldest part of Hispaniola and was, until quite recently, an island in its own right. Cristopher Colombus named part of Samana Bay the "Gulf of the Arrows", because his ships were received by the early original Amerindian inhabitants with a "rain of arrows" which forced them to sail away with care.
Samaná Bay has the rare distinction of being one of the best locations internationally to observe the well known and popular whale species, the Humpback (Megaptera novaengliae) .
Each winter Humpbacks migrate anywhere from 2000 to 4000 miles, from distant northern feeding grounds in the Gulf of Maine, the east coast of Canada, Greenland and Iceland, to the warm Caribbean water of the Dominican Republic to reproduce.
Almost the entire North Western Atlantic Humpback whale population spends the months of January, February and March utilizing several offshore areas: Silver Bank and Navidad Bank as well as Samaná Bay. Like singles bars on a single's bar circuit, males look for females and vice-versa, courting and competing for the opportunity to mate.
Pregnant females give birth and nurture their offspring, preparing their calves for the long return journey north and adolescent Humpbacks learn by example their future reproductive roles.
Kerry Zobor, vice president of consumer media for the World Wildlife Fund, recommends the Silver and Natividad Banks and the waters of Samana Bay. The clear sea makes for easy sightings of humpback, sperm, pygmy whales and orcas. "The male humpbacks form rutting groups and fight for dominance. They'll breach out of the water and land on each other," says Asmutis-Silvia. Keep an ear out while swimming for impromptu arias: Mating season is the season for males to sing.
Humpback whales are a whale watchers delight, they are coastal whales, easily found very close to shore and are considered one of the most active species of whale in the world with an amazing repertoire of behaviors some of which are unique to the reproductive end of their annual migration.
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