Fast Facts: Humpback Whale
The Humpback's scientific name, Megaptera, means "big-winged", a reference to the Humpback's long angel-like pectoral fins.
The Humpback Whale : Delphinapterus leucas
Description: Humpback Whales can be distinguished from other whales by the humped shape of their backs and the long pectoral fins that can measure up to 15 ft long! Typically colored solid black, the Humpback Whale has a white underside and white pectoral fins. Another defining characteristic is the pleats alongside the Humpback's throat. Although Humpbacks are significantly larger than Belugas and Narwhals, they're only half the size of the largest whale in existence, around 50 feet long.
Habitat: Found in oceans all over the world, the Humpback Whale typically spends time in the Northern and Southern pole regions during the summer where it spends several months feeding and hunting. In the winter months, the Humpback migrates to subtropical and tropical latitudes closer to the equator. During this time, Humpbacks live off the fat and blubber they accumulated during the feeding season.
Diet: Categorized as Baleen Whales, carnivorous whales that use baleen plates in their mouths to filter plankton from water, Humpbacks eat a variety of smaller types of prey. Their diet typically consists of small fish like salmon and pollock, krill, and plankton.
Behavior: With the exception of mating and hunting groups, Humpback Whales are typically solitary creatures. Groups that do form stay together only for a few weeks or months at most. Males may gather as they compete for mates, or large numbers of Humpbacks may work together to find prey. One hunting technique is bubble-net feeding, where a group of Humpbacks circle under prey and blow air bubbles that capture the prey above. After creating this net of bubbles, the Humpbacks can then swallow the prey in one easy gulp.
Although Humpbacks don't form permanent groups, they still interact with each other, especially during mating and rearing young. Mother Humpbacks stick by their calves for around a year, forming close relationships, while a male, called the principal escort, may follow them around. Other males may challenge the principal escort or become a secondary escort that trails behind the mother, calf, and principal escort.
Conservation Status: In the 1970s, the Humpback Whale was listed as Endangered when populations dropped to an all-time low of 15,000. Today, the population has rebounded to 80,000 Humpbacks because of protective laws that ban commercial hunting of sea mammals like these whales. Currently, the Humpback Whale population is still increasing and is now listed as Least Concern.
Unique Traits: Humpback Whales are one of the most observed whales because of their unique and intricate surface behavior. They can often be seen at the ocean surface preforming breaches, blows, slaps, hops and other show-like movements.
These whales are also known for their distinct calls and songs, which feature both haunting and structured melodies that can last for up to half an hour. Heard especially during mating season at breeding grounds, these songs are so unique because they vary from region to region and change each year. These evolving songs along with the many types of calls make the Humpback Whale the most vocal whale species in the world.
Comments
Post a Comment