Humpback whales

Megaptera novaeangliae, the humpback whale is a baleen whale species of the family Balaenopteridae (whales). It is one of the largest whales, adults have a length of 14 to 16m, females from 15 to 17m and an approximate weight of 40 000 kg. The species has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and knobby head. It is an animal that often do acrobatic jumps on the surface and then hit the water.

It is distributed in all the world’s oceans and seas; typically migrate up to 25,000 km each year. The Humpbacks feed only in summer in the Polar Regions and migrate to tropical and subtropical waters to breed and give birth to pups during the polar winter. While winter elapses fast and subsist thanks to its fat reserves. The species feeds primarily on krill and small fish.

Because of overharvesting, its population was reduced by 90% before the moratorium implemented in 1966.