Humpback Whale

You guys, I love whales so much. The noblest, most awe-inspiring creatures. That we have these giant-beyond-our-immediate-comprehension mammals just doing their own thing in the sea is mind-blowing to me. I think they should be running things. I have a real soft spot for humpbacks because those are the guys I’ve seen the most, and when I was a kid on a whale watch in Provincetown we had two swim under our boat. They’re also quite endangered (“fewer than 10 percent of their original population remaining,” according to the Marine Mammal Center). The scientific name is Megaptera, meaning “big-winged.” 

And they might not be blue whales, but they’re pretty huge! They grow up to 60 feet long. Their calves are 2,000 pounds when they’re born. Can you imagine…just swimming around, being that big and that gorgeous? And a lot of them have names! Here's a website where you can browse all sorts of marine mammal sightings.

The Marine Mammal Center has this great breakdown of humpback whale behaviors. I particularly like flipper slapping and spyhopping. To be that big and also having fun with it? They also can feed collaboratively and use these “bubble nets,” which is so cool. I personally love whale watches so much, truly the greatest honor to see these guys in action. Though one of the threats to the species is “vessel-based harassment,” so it’s important to do responsibly, according to everything I just read.

And of course, here’s a video from @molly’s pope David Attenborough. This music is kind of Titanic-style imo. And you can hear their calls a bit. The sheer beauty almost made me cry. 

My friend sent me a video of a humpback whale calf nursing, but I can’t share that because I found it too disgusting to watch past the first second (no offense to whales; I am just anti-milk).