The humpback whale belongs to the same family as the blue whale. Even the Bryde's whale, minke whale, fin whale and sei whale are part of this family. Together they form the rorqual family, which is known for its dorsal fin on the back and ventral pleats, which run from the start of the lower jaw all the way to the belly.

It may come as a surprise to learn that the color and shape of the dorsal fin and tail fin are different in each humpback whale. This has allowed researchers to identify, record and monitor different populations of these whales across the world, and understand more about their behavior, the way these populations migrate and how they get sexually mature.

Here is some detailed information on the humpback whale that you will find extremely interesting.

This whale's head, when seen from above, appears to round and broad, but when seen from the profile, it is slim in appearance. Unlike other members of this family, the humpback whale does not have a streamlined body. In fact, the body is round and gets slender just towards the tail. The whale has knobby protrusions on the head as well as the lower jaw, and each protrusion is round is shape and has a stiff hair on it. Researchers are still unsure what the hair in the protrusions is used for, but they feel that it must be some kind of adaptation to sense the movement of prey in the water around them. In addition, the humpback whale also has between 20 and 50 ventral groves that run past the navel.

The upper part of the whale's body is black in color, while the under part has a black and white coloration. The mottled color runs all the way to the tail fin. When the whale decides to descend to the depths, the flukes (tail lobes) are thrown upwards, so that the black and white pattern of the underbelly is exposed. Each whale has a distinct white and black pattern which is unique to it. The flippers are normally solid white or solid black, but are generally seen to be white on the ventral side.

The humpback whale has an unevenly shaped dorsal fin, which is situated towards the back of the body. It has long flippers that around quarter to one-third of its body length, with large knob-like structures on one edge. The tail of the whale is massive, around 5.5 meters in width. It has a serrated edge and the tips of the tail are pointed. An adult humpback male is between 40 and 48 feet in length, while an adult female is between 45 and 50 feet. This species is truly massive and has the weight to sustain its massive body. It can weigh anywhere from 25 tons to 40 tons.

For its big size, the humpback whale's diet is surprising. It feeds mostly on krill and small fish. However, it eats quite a bit, around 1 to 1.5 tons every day. The whale has specialized plates in the mouth that help it to filter the water it takes in. This way the whale traps the food close to the tongue, so that it can swallow it easily.

Most humpback whales get sexually mature by the time they are 6 to 10 years old. The gestation period of the whale is twelve months, after which the female gives birth to a live calf, which is around 10 to 15 feet in length and weighs around one ton when it is born. The female nurses the calf on milk and after the calf is around one year old, it begins to eat solid food.

This species is found practically in all the oceans and they tend to migrate in summer to colder waters for better food sources, and in winter, they return to the warm waters of the tropical oceans for mating and giving birth. However, there is one population of the whale living in the Arabian Sea that is non-migratory in nature.

It is truly a pleasure to watch these magnificent creatures swim in the oceans. What amazes people is how active these whales are. They can leap out of the water without any problems and they also have the ability to swim while lying on the back and pointing the flippers into the air. In addition, these whales are known to slap their tails and flippers on the surface of the water. Researchers are still trying to understand these behaviors, and it is quite possible that the flipper and tail slapping is a type of communication that the whales use amongst themselves.

Unfortunately, humpback whales are targeted by whalers and their numbers are fast dwindling. The International Whaling Commission made this species of whale a protected one in the year 1966. However, this has not stopped the illegal killing of the humpback whales. It is estimated just 30,000 to 40,000 humpback whales are present in the oceans today, a number that is 35 percent less that what the population was originally.

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American Cetacean Society: Humpback Whale
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/humpback.htm