Did You know that ...
Humpback whales are warm-blooded, air-breathing mammals.
Measure 40-50 ft and weigh 30-40 tons, but some reach 59 ft and 60 tons.
Their practice of arching the back when diving, causes a noticable hump in the dorsal fin region.
Hence its common name.
The whales' blowholes are their nostrils; humpbacks have two, some species only one.
The blowholes are separate from the mouth. If not, whales' lungs would fill with water when they feed.
Humpbacks see moderately well in the darkness of deep waters with large pupils.
Which narrow to slits when they appear above water.
Their ears are quarter-inch slits on either side of the head, but humpbacks have excellent hearing.
It's their principal sense.
Instead of teeth, humpbacks have hundreds of plates of fibrous baleen ( up to 44 in long, 12 in wide ).
Early whalers called baleen "whalebone", but it's the same material as your fingernails.
The tail, is the powerful, heavily muscled rear third of the body with two, horizontal "wings", called flukes.
On the underside of the flukes are black and white markings, the fluke pattern.
Because no two are identical, scientists use fluke patterns, like human fingerprints, to identify individuals.
Some interesting links on humpback whales:
Adopt a Whale
Lots of fotos of Humpback Whales
Virtual Whale Project: 3D animation and sound environment
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Updated: January 23, 1998 solution4u@usa.net