Humpback Whales
Humpback whales are baleen whales

The Humpback whale is the 5th largest animal on earth, growing to a length of 15 metres and weighing up to 45 tonnes.  They are the most commonly seen whales in Australian waters, but are found in all the world's oceans.

Humpbacks get their name from their habit of showing a large area of their backs out of the sea as they dive. They are the most acrobatic of all of the big whales, leaping, rolling and breaching (leaping right out of the water and falling backwards, making a loud noise as they hit the water), which provides great viewing for humans.  Adult humpbacks sometimes breach as many as 30 times in a row, every 10 seconds or so. They are inquisitive, and often lie on their backs with flippers in the air, or with heads out of the water, looking around above the surface. They are famous for their complicated whale songs, particularly during breeding.

Humpback whales spend the summer months in Antarctic waters feeding on krill.  They make a 'cage' of bubbles to trap krill, then feed. As winter approaches, they start their migration north to warmer waters, many going to the central and southern parts of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.  Calves are born in the warm waters before they begin the migration with their mothers back to Antarctica.  Many migrating humpback whales stop off at Platypus Bay, a shallow, sheltered bay that is part of the Hervey Bay Marine Park

Humpback whales have a massive head.  Along the underside of their necks they have up to 22 throat pleats which expand when they are feeding. They have a very rough skin, with many knobs and lumps on which barnacles grow. Humpbacks have huge pectoral fins which can be up to a third the length of their entire body. Their tail flukes are huge.

It is believed that as many as 100,000 humpback whales existed before white settlement and the commencement of whaling in Australia.  Humpback whales were easy prey for shore-based whalers because they swim close to shore. By the time whaling in Australian waters stopped in 1962, only 200 were left.  Humpback whales have been protected since 1963. The present population making the annual migration to north-eastern Australian waters is an estimated 3000. It is believed that worldwide the numbers are about 25,000.

If you use any part of this, acknowledge it in your bibliography like this:
Whales (2002). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au

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Updated October 2007