Crystal the Humpback Whale
His Story
Crystal was born in 1980 to Salt, the most famous humpback whale in the world. You can read more about Salt and Crystal’s many brothers and sisters by clicking on Salt’s name or scroll to the bottom for the family tree.
You can actually meet Salt, Crystal and 48 other named humpback whales on the DVD “Salt & Friends“.
Crystal was named by Capt Avellar who was wise enough in the early days of whale watching to recognize that humpbacks were unique and easily identified as individuals.
He named the first two humpback whales, Salt and Pepper because Salt’s dorsal was primarily white and Pepper’s dorsal was all black. Thereafter, Capt Avellar was given the distinguished honor of naming all of Salt’s calves.
Crystal’s tail pattern has remained the same since he was a calf.
Lobtailing is the term for a humpback whale slamming his tail on the water.
Crystal‘s History
| Mother: Salt | First Sighting: 1980 |
| Year Of Birth: 1980 | Last Seen: 2018 |
Crystal’s Family Tree (Note: This is his mother’s family tree)
| Calves | Year of Birth | Grandcalves |
| Crystal | 1980 | |
| Halos | 1983 | |
| Thalassa | 1985 | Skeeter 1992 (Thalassa) |
| Brine | 1987 | Etch-a-Sketch 1998 (Thalassa) |
| Bittern | 1989 | Shishkabob 2001 (Thalassa) |
| Salsa | 1991 | Yosemite 2003 (Thalassa) |
| Tabasco | 1998 | Divingboard 2005 (Thalassa) |
| Mostaza | 2000 | Flyingfish 2007 (Thalassa) |
| Wasabi | 2003 | Unnamed Calf 2008 (Mostaza) |
| Soya | 2006 | Unnamed Calf 2009 (Thalassa) |
| Sanchal | 2008 | Unnamed Calf 2011 (Mostaza) |
| Zelle | 2010 | Unnamed Calf 2012 (Thalassa) |
Please enjoy this introduction to Crystal from the Salt & Friends: Humpback Whales With Names DVD
Order Safely on PayPal
Pictures of Crystal (from his DVD)
Salt is well known for bringing all of her calves up to whale watching boats and she even did this with her first-born. Although Crystal is a mature male at the age of 32, he still enjoys these brief encounters.
Crystal’s favorite activity (other than eating) seems to be lobtailing which is simply slamming his tail or fluke onto the ocean’s surface. He may do this for many reasons including: communication, to dislodge barnacles or merely because it is fun!
Crystal’s Fluke while lobtailing
New: Crystal on DVD reg $25.00
On sale now $18.99
If you adopted Crystal from any of the Adopt A Whale Programs in the US or UK, you can meet him!
You will be delighted to spend 20 minutes with Crystal close to the boat, lobtailing, coming up tail first, hanging out with Appaloosa and finally breaching.
You will also meet his mother, Salt and a brother and sister.
