Humpback Whale

William Brinckman-Smith 

Description

A full grown Humpback whale is the size of a school bus. They are mammals and females nurse their babies (calves) for almost a year. The calves do not stop growing until their 10 years old. Full grown whales weighs approximately 40 tons. they are powerful swimmers, using their tail (flukes) to move through the water. Instead of teeth they have baleen which is made up of 270-400 fringed plates. They are usually white underneath and dark grey or black on the back and sides. 

Habitat

A Humpback Whale lives in all oceans up to Iceland and Russia. They migrate annually. During the summer at the poles they feed. During the winter they breed at tropical coast lines.

                                          http://beforeitsgone.com.au/2011/07/04/humpbacks-cruise-our-coasts-on-their-annual-migration/ 

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Humpbackwhale.shtml

Predator Adaptations

The Humpback Whale uses its baleen plates to trap its prey. The plates allows the water to leak back out of the mouth and the prey stays trapped. It eats krill, small fish,  salmon, herring, mackerel and capelin.  

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Prey Adaptations

We humans are predators of the humpback whales because we used to hunt them for their blubber or also known as whale oil. They did not adapt.

Symbiotic Interactions

Humpback Whales create bubble columns and bubble clouds to trap fish such as angelfish, and push them up to the surface for marine birds to share in the bounty. This is called Commensalism because the birds benefit from the whales and the whales are unaffected.                     

Species Comparison: Minke whale

Similarities

The two whales both eat krill and small fish. They are prey to the most terrifying species of all, humans. They both communicate in their pods. They live in oceans and both have tons of blubber. They both have baleen plates.

Differences

The Minke Whale is also hunted by Killer Whales and Sharks. Only the Humpback Whale migrates annually around the World

Resources

"Humpback Whales". Mai 22, 2013.

<http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/humpback-whale/>

Wursig,B. "Humpback whale." World Book Student. World Book, 2013. Web. 31 May 2013.

<http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar267030&st=humpback+whales>

Image Quest Britannica

< http://quest.eb.com/search?keyword=humpback+whale&collectionId=0&subjectId=0&resultsPerPage=100&page=11&localizeSearchMetaData=false>