Wildlife In Focus | Humpback Whale

Species Guide | Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

APPEARANCE

There’s something very majestic and awe-inspiring about the Humpback Whale. They are part of a group of whales called rorquals; which includes the Blue Whale, Minke Whale, and Finback Whale. Humpbacks are gigantic mammals albeit comparatively small compared to the largest of their cousins; the Blue Whale. They are also quite easily distinguished from their cousins. They have the longest flippers of any of the marine mammals and also sport large knobs on their heads called tubercles. Scientists believe that these help the whales to sense water movements. Humpbacks are predominantly black, although their under-bodies are frequently white.

Diet

Humpback Whales eat krill and schooling fish such as herring, mackerel & sand eel.

Did You Know? Some humpbacks have learned to encircle schools of fish by blowing air bubbles around them, and then proceed to lunge through the center of the school with their mouths open to catch their prey.

HABITAT

The Humpback whale is migratory based on the availability of food. They travel to high latitudes during the summer months of the Northern Hemisphere low latitudes during the summer months of the Southern Hemisphere. They also tend to mate and breed in the Southern Hemisphere.

Did You Know? Humpback Whales can travel 5000 miles on their migratory passage between the Northern & Southern Hemispheres.

Note that this map is for a rough illustration of official sitings of Humpback Whales around the British Isles¹ between 1980 and 2017.

Behavior

Humpback whales love to breach the surface of the water and can use their brute strength to rise powerfully, twist, and then come crashing down with an immense splash. It is the frequency of this behavior that makes them vastly popular in the world of nature tourism. By nature, they are solitary animals although they do sometimes form loose groups of animals, particularly during the breeding season.

Humpback Whales are sexually mature between 5 and 10 years of age and have multiple partners. Males will trail females whereby the dominant male will remain closest to the female with other males acting as escorts. Gestation lasts 11.5 months and normally consists of a single calf. Calves suckle from the mother for up to a year, but their diet is supplemented with fish from around six months old. 

STATS

NATURAL PREDATORS

Killer Whales are their main natural predator as well as Great White Sharks and Orca Whales.

Conservation Status

Humpback Whales have been protected in the North Atlantic since 1955, and worldwide since 1966. Up until this point they were exploited by mankind with populations reducing by over 90%. They are currently classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Global
Conservation Status

References

1. Modelled Distributions and Abundance of Cetaceans and Seabirds of Wales and Surrounding Waters. Peter G.H. Evans and James J. Waggitt (2020)
2. Wildlife Trust