Status: Endangered Distinguished by its short, stout body and long, curved flippers which are often a third of the total body length, this slow-moving animal is usually easily approached. The average length of the Pacific adult males is 12.5 m and of females 14.6 m. The average weight is 30 tons. The humpback is often observed throwing itself out of the water in gigantic somersaults and crashing back into the sea again. It rolls on the surface, sometimes leaping out of the water, flippers beating the air as if it were attempting to fly. In mating season, they sometimes use their flippers to pat each other. Humpbacks are found in both hemispheres, migrating in summer to feed in the polar seas and retreating in winter to tropical waters to breed. Humpbacks are preyed upon by humans and killer whales. These whales have been hunted to near extinction, and only about 2,500 exist today. Information on the humpback whale reproduce courtesy of the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada, www.nature.ca.

 

Credits
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Photo by Robert Shallenberger

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