What do humpback whales look like?
The humpback whale is one of the most easily recognisable of the large whales. Often the first sign of its presence is its ‘blow’, a cloud of vapour that it shoots into the air when it breaks the surface to breathe. Humpbacks get their name from the humped area of blubber anterior to their dorsal fin that is accentuated by the arching of their backs when diving. They will often roll forward to dive until only the tail sticks out of the water. This is called a fluke-up dive. Other common actions include: waving their extraordinarily long pectoral fins a leisurely body roll which ends with a splash as their pectoral fin smacks the surface of the water. Humpback whales can launch themselves out of the water in a spectacular motion called breaching. There are theories as to why whales breach. They may be communicating to other whales across vast distances, trying to attract other whales (including a mate), to warn off vessels or other males, or perhaps to cool off, remove parasites such as
