The Humpback Whale is an amazing yet majestic whale, a species known as Novaeanglia Megaptera. People travel by boat to warm coastal waters to watch whales as they play in their normal habitat. Many companies offer cheap whale watching experience to groups all over the world such as: Prince Monterey Whale Watching and Whale One.
How to identify a Humpback Whale?
Did you know that the Humpback whale is a huge mammal that weighs about 40 tons and can grow up to 62 feet long? This whale has a distinct dorsal fin and the largest flippers of any animal in the sea. This majestic whale is the fifth largest mammal in the ocean and has two blow holes, one of which is the largest whale. In Cant Doctrine (2012), Humpback whales can be four colors, but their hump will always have patches of white on it.
What makes a whale distinct?
The white mark on its tooth helps researchers identify individual whales because it resembles an individual human fingerprint. No two whales have the same markings on their beaks, which is amazing and helps researchers identify new whales to study . Furthermore, the cetacean has separate mouth slits that can be seen from a distance. These slit-like mouths allow the whales’ mouths to expand as they eat their prey.
What do they eat?
The humpback whale is called a baleen whale because it has several hundred baleen plates that hang from the upper jaw instead of teeth. A whale swallows many thousands of gallons of water which allows them to catch small fish, plankton, and krill to filter According to Enchanted Learning (2012), the whale will migrate to colder waters, so it takes tons of food to fill them.
Where do they live?
The humpback whale prefers to live in a large group or pod of whales, which can be close to a mother and calf or whale. The young calves will drink their mother’s milk after they are born until the mother begins to nurse the baby whale at 11 months of age. According to Enchanted Learning (2012), a female Humpback Whale is pregnant for about 12 months and will feed her calf 100 pounds of milk a day.
What is the Song of Songs?
A male humpback will make a long yet complex sound like: moaning, screaming, and howling for several hours. This came to be known as the Whale Song, which it used to communicate with other whales that were swimming in the area or several thousand miles away. According to National-geographic-channel (2012), this species of whale is known for making beautiful and magical noises. This communication between humpback whales was recorded by researchers and can be found online.
How long does a calf grow?
The whale family prefers to stay close to the surface, whether they are in open water or swimming nearby. of the shores These whales share a strong bond, so the calf will follow the mother wherever she wants to go. According to Marine Park (2012), a baby calf does not stop growing until it is about ten years old. a>, but then the calf will be full-grown. Adult calves will generally stay with their mother and other relatives in the pod.
Why are they called sea shells?
A humpback whale enjoys breaking the surface of the water, just for show or play. However, their bow is usually pushed back straight before the ocean. According to Enchanted Learning (2012), they are thought to be ocean gourds that love the surface and slap the water with their huge fins. Sometimes they will also burn a small amount of water near a fishing boat, which surprises people on board. .
are they threatened?
These whales were heavily hunted for oil, meat, and many types of hunters in the past years. This makes the Humpback whale a threatened and endangered species, which is sad. According to the Marine Park (2012), whaling was banned from 1963 until 2007. Now, however, the Japanese have approved some hunting and quantity of wild animals for scientific research.
Notes:
National Geographic (2012) Humpback Whale
Retrieved November 14, 2012, from the World Wide Web
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/humpback-whale/
The Singing Lesson (2012) Humpback Whale
Retrieved November 14, 2012, from the World Wide Web
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Humpbackwhale.shtml
Marine Park (2012) Humpback Whale
Retrieved November 14, 2012, from the World Wide Web
http://www.marineparks.wa.gov.au/fun-facts/37-humpback-whale.html
