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Each winter the Atlantic Humpbacks migrate from their northern feeding grounds to the Silver Banks off the Dominican Republic. They leave the cold waters of the north to breed and calve. The best time to visit the Silver Banks is about mid February when the migration is at it’s peak giving more opportunities to swim with the whales. The majority of the whales you get to see close up are females with calves. The calves can’t stay submerged as long as adults so mom stays closer to the surface for their sake.The males tend to stay submerged longer and deeper unless they are trailing a female in heat and that can get quite dangerous when two decide to compete for the same female. Since the males are the only ones that sing, sometimes you can hear them lying deep down on the bottom and singing. Mothers will be caring for and nursing the calves at the surface as well as teaching them such skills as ‘breaching’.
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