The Humpback Whale

Physical Appearance• The Humpback Whale is a filter feeder, which

feed on small creatures, and it is a type of baleen whales.

• Humpback Whales are black or gray, with white regions of varying degree on their throat and belly. Their flippers are white underneath and sometimes white on top as well. They have from 260 to 400 baleen plates on each side and the baleen are generally all black, with black or olive black bristles.

• Females can grow up to 16m long and males can grow up to 15m long and can weigh up to 36,000 kilograms.In all species of baleen whales, the females are larger. 

• The Humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head.

Habitat and Migration

• Humpback Whales are found in oceans and seas all around the world. They can be found in New Zealand as well, around the Kermadecs Islands.

• They travel alone or in a pod.• Humpback Whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres each year. They

migrate to tropical or sub-tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter.• Humpback Whales feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate

to tropical or sub-tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their reserves. The species' diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

Food and Prey• Humpback Whales feed mainly on 'krill'

(or small crustaceans which look like shrimp about 2 inches long) and on small fish such as herring, mackerel, capelin, scads, sand lance, small salmon, and cod. In the cold Arctic and Antarctic waters, these krill are found in large close swarms. Humpback whales eat up to a ton of feed per day when they are in cooler waters to build up a thick fat layer, called "blubber". They live on this blubber during the winter months when they stay in warmer waters where less food is available. The blubber layer on a large whale can be up to 18cm thick!

• Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique.

Predators

• Humpback Whales and other gigantic whales are thought to have no predators. But calves of Humpback Whales get attacked by Killer Whales (or orca) or sharks sometimes. They go on top of the calf and drowns it.

• Even an adult Humpback Whale has no chance against an attack by a pod of killer whales.

Why Humpback Whales are in danger

• The most common reasons for the Humpback Whale being listed on the Endangered List is due to over whaling and hunting/fishing.

• Of all the whales taken by whalers, the Humpback Whale was the unluckiest of all. For one thing, their oil does not burn as well as that of other whales. Old-time whalers made up for that by killing a lot of them. To make it worse, all of the Humpbacks customs or habits make it easy to hunt them. Whalers or whale hunters would wait for the herd or group of whales to get back to their feeding grounds. They could also hunt the whale at their warm water mating areas. To make it even easier the humpback whales are usually near the shore. If the killing had kept on going then they would be extinct by now.

How to help Humpback Whales from extinction

Help Humpback Whales by…• For a start you can warn other

people and try to get everyone’s attention that Humpback Whales are in need of help.

• If you live by the beach, participate in beach clean ups or if there is, join a whale watching group.

• Minimize your use of plastic and try reuse them as much as you can.

• Support the conservation groups trying to save Humpbacks and other whales, like Green Peace, Friends of the Earth, Project Jonah and more.

• Write a letter or an email to the government to tell them our concerns about Humpback Whales.

Thank you for watching!

I hope you learnt lots about the Humpback Whale!

By Honoka