Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
A skeleton of a young humpback, washed ashore at Gileston, near Aberthaw on 16th October 1982 and was the first stranded record for the species for 100 years. Killed whilst accompanying its family group south for the winter, by a large piece of timber during hurricane storms in the Atlantic. It was taken to National Museum Cardiff for study, preservation, and display in the galleries.The adults measure up to 58' for females and 50' for males weighing 34-45 tonnes when adult. The humpback whale is one of the largest baleen whales in the world’s oceans. Once common they were hunted to near extinction, and even now numbers are small. The adults feed on plankton and fish in the rich northern waters in summer and migrate to sub-tropical waters in winter. The Humpback Whale is a contender for one of the species with the longest migrations. They migrate from tropical wintering grounds to summer feeding grounds near the poles, travelling over 5,000 miles a year.
