Humpback Whale Research Paper

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaengliae) are beautiful and majestic sea creatures. They have been popularized by the mellifluous sounds of their voices, and are known as some of the largest mammals on earth. They have very interesting migration patterns that take the whale vast distances. They also possess many puzzling qualities, and scientists work to decipher the cause of these behaviors. The average male humpback whale is about 40-48 feet long, while the average female is about 45-50 feet long. The longest humpback whale length that has ever been documented was at an amazing 89 feet long. The whale is usually a grayish or bluish color, and has various ridges or “throat grooves” going up towards the front of the animal’s underside. They also have several hard, barnacle-looking projections that have a single hair. These are located towards the front of the head. The true reason for these protrusions isn’t definite, although it is perhaps a sensory function. They also have fins that can be 15 feet in length. Humpback whales weigh about 25-40 tons. They get the name “humpback” because they form a hump with their back in order go deeper into the water. The humpback is thought not to depend on its vision as greatly as other mammals. In the water, things are hard to make out, so
One is their spout. Humpbacks breathe by rising to the surface and exhaling, when inhaling and “humping” their backs to dive again. The humpback is a baleen whale, and baleen whales have two blowholes versus just one. Humpbacks’ lungs are gigantic and can fill up to the size of a small car. Another interesting behavior humpbacks possess are their actions above the water. Humpbacks are famous for breaching, or leaping all or most of the way out of the water. Another thing they are known to do is to thrust their powerful tail, or fluke, out of the water. It isn’t definite why whales do such phenomenon; it could just be for