Humpback whales?

Question

Does anyone know anything interested about them?

Like cool facts...

I love them and would love to learn and know more.

Thanks

Answer 1

they appeared on star trek 5 the voyage home

Answer 2

One interesting fact is that they can sing and produce sound.

Answer 3

Not a lot but I remember reading a few things - eat about 1 1/2 tons food a day. The males sing a song (different ones for different regions) for about 15min which is thought to be a breeding thing - breed from about 6years old and Barnacles live on them!!!!

Answer 4

TRUST ME IT WOULD BE WORTH READING

Humpback whales are facinating animals. We have assembled a number of interesting facts for your use. Our humpback whale discovery cards provide this information along with photos and illustrations.

Scientific name: Megaptera novaeangliae (large-winged New England)

Adult length: 45 feet (14 meters)

Adult weight: 40 tons (80,000 lbs)

Adult's daily diet: 1 ton

Tail (flukes) width: 15 feet (4.5 m)

Pectoral fin length: 15 feet (4.5 m)

Calf's daily diet: 120 gallons of milk

Length at birth: 12 feet (3.6 meters)

Weight at birth: 2 tons (4,000 lbs)

Humpbacks are distinguished from other large whales primarily by their very long pectoral fins which are about one-third of their body length. They also have a flat head with golf ball size bumps called tubercles and commonly raise their flukes when diving.

Evolution

There are five classes of vertebrate animals (those with backbones)--birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and mammals. Mammals, including humans, are warm-blooded, have hair, breathe air into lungs, give live birth, and nurse their young. Most mammals live on land, but some can fly (bats) and many live in the ocean.

Marine mammals live much or all their lives in water. Nearly all live in the ocean, but some inhabit primarily fresh water. Marine mammals include cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walrus), marine fissipeds (sea otter and polar bear), and sirenians (manatees and dugong).

Whales evolved from four-legged land dwellers who lived over 50 million years ago. To better exploit rich marine food resources, they adapted by retaining certain useful traits through a gradual natural selection process. Their hind feet shrank, eventually disappearing and tails grew into flukes for swimming. The snout extended, raising the nostrils on top of the head to make breathing at the surface easier. These modifications eventually led to specialized whale adaptations such as powerful flukes and streamlined bodies for swimming and blowholes for easier surface breathing.

There are two sub-orders of cetaceans--baleen whales (mysticetes) and toothed whales (odontocetes). Humpbacks, like blue and gray whales, are baleen whales. Toothed whales include orcas (killer whales), sperm whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Baleen whales are filter feeders. Baleen are plates of fingernail-like material that look like toothbrush bristles hanging from the top of the mouth. Baleen whales have no teeth. How does a baleen whale eat without teeth? As it opens its mouth to take in water and food, throat grooves under the jaw expand allowing in more prey. The mouth is closed and the water is strained or filtered out through the baleen with a push of the tongue. The food is trapped inside and swallowed whole.

Life Cycle & Mating

It is believed that humpback whale calves are born in warm and shallow tropical waters during the winter, although a birth has never been witnessed. The birth follows a ten to twelve month gestation period. A calf is about 12 feet (3.6 meters) at birth and weighs two tons. Mothers with newborn calves remain in shallow waters for the first few days to avoid predators such as sharks and killer whales.

Mothers nurse calves with thick, fat-rich milk which allows the youngsters to grow about a foot each month. At just a few months age calves make their first migration to feeding waters. By age one a calf will double its length and cease nursing. Humpbacks are fully grown by age 12 and it is estimated that they may live to age 50.

Humpbacks are usually seen alone or in groups of two or three. However during feeding and mating seasons they may congregate in groups of up to twenty whales. During the winter season, female humpbacks are often temporarily accompanied by a male called an escort. If a calf is present, the male escort sometimes appears to protect the calf from intruders by placing himself between the calf and intruder.

Winter is also the season for mating. The courtship process is not well understood for humpback whales. However, male challengers are seen trying to displace escorts in exciting surface active chases. Males use aggressive behaviors such as tail lobs and head and pec slaps against one another to attempt to maintain a position closest to a female.

Humpbacks are famous for their songs. During the winter breeding season males repeat patterns of sounds for 15 minutes or more. The songs sound like moans and squeaking doors. Each singer sings the same song, even as the song changes as the season progresses. Little singing occurs outside of the breeding season. However, when the whales return for the next breeding season they resume singing the version of the song sung at the end of the previous breeding season.

Migration & Feeding

Humpbacks are found in all oceans in distinct population groups that do not usually mix with other populations. These groups migrate along the same routes each year and spend summers and winters in the same general areas. For example, humpbacks who winter in Hawaii generally travel to Alaska for the summer, resulting in a round-trip migration of over 8,000 miles. Although we know their migration routes, we do not know how they find their way to the same places each year.

Humpbacks feed during the summer when they build up a thick layer of blubber that provides an energy reserve. They may eat up to one ton of food a day in cool-water, nutrient-rich regions like Alaska and New England. Despite their size, humpbacks eat tiny food such as zooplankton, krill, and small fish. In the fall they migrate to tropical regions, like Hawaii and the Carribean where they do not eat for about five months, but survive by tapping the energy reserve in their blubber.

Population Status

Humpbacks like the other great whales were hunted to the brink of extinction. Over 140,000 humpbacks were killed in the Southern Hemisphere alone before 1966 when they became protected by international law. Marine mammals have been protected in the USA since the passage of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Act makes it illegal to harass, capture, hunt, or kill a marine mammal without a permit. Marine mammal habitats have been protected with the establishment of National Marine Sanctuaries. However, many nations still allow whale hunting.

Although some humpback populations are slowly showing signs of recovery, they are still considered an endangered species. Humpback whales are still threatened by habitat disturbance, oil spills, acoustic pollution, marine debris (especially plastics), entanglement in nets, and human disturbance. The key to humpback survival is a healthy ocean environment. Learning about the ocean, humpback whales, and issues currently affecting them is the first step towards becoming aware and involved.

Fluke Identification

Researchers have discovered that individual humpbacks can be identified by the black and white patterns on the underside of their flukes, similar to fingerprints for humans. They take pictures called "fluke ID's"and compare them to ones taken before.

By studying fluke ID's from different times and places, much can be learned about whales. If a fluke ID taken in Alaska in summer matches one taken in Hawaii in winter you know where that whale has been. Fluke ID's taken of a whale throughout its life will help you determine its age and migration pattern.

Humpback Behaviors

Humpback whales are the most watched of all the great whales. They tend to congregate in near-shore waters in Hawaii, New England, and Alaska making them perfect for whale watching. They are acrobatic and exciting, exhibiting stunning displays of power and grace. Whale watchers have named many of these behaviors.

Breaching

Breaching is an incredible display of the power of a whale. With just a few beats of its flukes a humpback whale can propel its body out of the water. Spinning with pectoral fins extended like wings, the whale lands in a spectacular splash. Humpback whales may breach to lose barnacles, to communicate with other whales by making a loud splash, to display dominance, or just for fun.

Diving

A whale spends most time underwater, out of our sight. When it surfaces to breathe, it exhales (blows) and inhales exchanging air in its lungs. To dive, it points the head down while arching the back and moving the flukes up and down. Often whales raise their flukes above the water before submerging in a behavior known as a fluke-up dive.

Fluke (Tail) Slap

In an instant a humpback whale raises its flukes above the water and forcefully slaps them down on the surface, repeating this behavior over and over. The loud claps of the flukes on the surface can be heard for several miles. Fluke slaps may be performed in the upright or inverted position. A tail slap can be a powerful weapon used in the presence of predators, such as killer whales. Tail slaps are also used when careless boats approach too closely. Even calves can be seen tail lobbing, a form of play resulting in muscle development and improved coordination.

Feeding

Humpbacks can be very ingenious when it comes to feeding. In Alaska humpbacks use bubble nets to concentrate their prey and increase the amount of food taken with each mouthful. Humpbacks create bubble nets by releasing bubbles from their blowholes while rising in a spiral motion towards the surface. As the bubbles rise they create a cylindrical curtain, trapping the prey inside. The whale rises through the cylinder of bubbles towards the surface, herding the prey. The bubbles form a circle at the surface and the whale lunges through this circle gulping a mouthful of prey.

Viewed from the surface, the whales suddenly break the surface with their mouths open, engulfing water and prey. The top of their mouths are nearly vertical above the surface while the top of the lower jaw  

Answer 5

Then research the subject. Internet, books, DVDs.