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Humpback Whales

Physical Traits

  • About 60 feet long (Females are longer than males)
  • Weigh about 40 tons
  • Use their large tail fin (called a fluke) to help them swim powerfully
  • The pattern of scars and pigments on their bellies are unique to every whale

Singing

Habitat/Feeding Behaviors

  • Eat plankton, crustaceans, and small fish
  • Eat up to 3,000 pounds a day
  • Hunt in groups
  • Blow bubbles to catch food and push it up to the surface (bubble net feeding)
  • Swim through large crowds of fish with their mouths open (lunge feedings)
  • Communicate to others by singing
  • They use a series of moans and howls 
  • Only males sing 
  • Includes frequencies humans can't hear
  • Each whale has their own song that only changes slightly 
  • Has the most complex song in the animal kingdom

Social Behaviors

Climate Change's Effect

  • Jump out of the water (breach) and slap the waves with their fins
  • Mothers swim close to their calves and touch them with their fins as a sign of affection
  • Swim in pods of a dozen on calving grounds and pods of 3-4 during migration
  • Calves nurse for a year, and don't stop growing for 10 years
  • Adapted to a form of bubble net feeding called lob-tail feeding
  • 10% of original population remains
  • Population is increasing 
  • Threats include: fishing gear entanglement, harassment from whale watchers, and decrease in food supply

For More Information.....

Sound Of A Humpback Whale - Ocean Mammal Institute
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