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Boston Globe

Legendary whale named Salt seen off coast of Provincetown

Salt was named for the distinctive white coloration of her dorsal fin back in 1975, according to Chad Avellar, whose father, Aaron Avellar, gave Salt its name. 'I think he was just kind of joking around, because it was the one whale you could identify in a field of, say, 20 whales,' he said. 'But, of course, it wasn't a joke to the scientists.' Chad Avellar is the owner of SeaSalt Charters, a whale watching company on Cape Cod. He said Salt's surprise appearance on Wednesday brought some of his passengers to tears. Advertisement 'I see people crying, all kind of goose-bumpy, oohing, aahing,' he said. 'Whales are such a magical thing. We don't really know much about them, because they only spend about 5 percent of their life above the surface.' 'Everybody that follows whales in New England knows Salt,' he added. Advertisement Avellar said Salt makes appearances off the Massachusetts coast each summer. These regular sightings have helped scientists better understand whale migration behavior, Asmutis-Silvia said. Salt, along with other whales in the Gulf of Maine, swims to the Caribbean in the winter to have children, returning north during the warmer months to feed, Asmutis-Silvia said. Salt is known to have approximately 16 calves, all of which are named in their mother's honor, Avellar said. 'All of those calves were named by my dad,' he said. 'Crystal was the first calf... then brine, and bitter, salsa, tabasco.' A whale named "Salt," famous among New Englanders, was seen for the first time this year off the coast of Provincetown Wednesday. Ken Grille By studying the calves, Asmutis-Silvia said scientists were able to understand that successive generations of humpback whales have their own distinctive 'cultures' and feeding techniques. For example, one of Salt's grandchildren, Etch a Sketch, has pioneered a method of feeding in which she slaps her tail on the water's surface to 'stun' large groups of fish so they're more easily eaten. Salt, on the other hand, has never deigned to practice this new method of 'kick-feeding,' leading researchers to believe that Etch a Sketch learned the behavior from her peers. 'It's been really helpful in understanding that this behavior isn't necessarily something that's just passed down genetically or passed down behaviorally,' Asmutis-Silvia said. 'Salt does not kick feed. I don't know if it's just beneath her or whatever.' Scientists estimate that Salt is approximately 55 years old, Asmutis-Silvia said, and indications are that she might be pregnant with her 17th calf, although the father isn't likely in the picture. 'Dads don't do anything to rear the calves,' Asmutis-Silvia said. 'It's completely Mom's responsibility.' Advertisement Scientists aren't sure how long Salt will live but estimate she has at least another 20 years, absent any boat collisions or run-ins with predators . 'I think that's one of the coolest things that whales like Salt continue to teach us,' Asmutis-Silvia said. 'It's all a learning curve, and we're learning stuff all the time.' A whale named "Salt," famous among New Englanders, was seen for the first time this year off the coast of Provincetown Wednesday. Ken Grille Truman Dickerson can be reached at