New Jersey mammals

Humpback Whale in New Jersey

Megaptera novaeangliae

Native to New Jersey S1 Critically Imperiled in New Jersey

Not listed as nonindigenous in New Jersey by USGS NAS; native to its New Jersey range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Humpback Whale in New Jersey, by the numbers

Common in New Jersey 21st most recorded of 94 mammals logged in New Jersey

206 occurrence records
197 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 12, 2026 Last seen in New Jersey

Records from 2000–2026.

206 total records count every New Jersey occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 205; the monthly chart covers the 205 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Humpback Whale in New Jersey

Most sightings fall in October.

205 New Jersey occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly New Jersey records (table)
MonthRecords
January4
February5
March4
April4
May12
June21
July34
August33
September18
October39
November20
December11

Monthly humpback whale occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in New Jersey, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in New Jersey, with recorded sightings peaking in October, with a smaller rise in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Humpback Whale has been recorded in New Jersey

205 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

146 New Jersey records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Gateway National Recreation Area 8
Island Beach State Park 2

Protected places with the most humpback whale sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in New Jersey

CountyRecords
Ocean County 18
Monmouth County 8
Cape May County 3
Hudson County 1
Other localities 176

The complete county distribution, spread across 4 New Jersey counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Humpback whales are recorded in Atlantic waters all along New Jersey’s oceanfront. Sandy Hook is the leading named shore site here, while coastal viewpoints near Edwin B. Forsythe and Island Beach broaden the north-to-south coverage. These are offshore observations: a high viewpoint, calm conditions, and patient scanning are more useful than searching the beaches themselves.

Reports rise from July through October, with October the strongest month in the NJ curve. Whale occurrence follows prey and ocean conditions, while weather and boat-based observer effort also affect how many sightings enter the dataset.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

More mammals in New Jersey in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources: