Humpback Whales: Amazing Communicators & Musicians

Humpback Whales are perhaps the most whale known whale species. They are intelligent, social, and terrific acrobats, but humpback whales are best known for their ability to communicate with one another.

Male humback whales sing complex songs made up of squeaks, roars, grunts and groans. A group of males in an area can sing the same song, which can be 30 minutes, for hours. Since they sing their song during breeding season in winter, scientists believe they sing to attract mates.

While only male humpback whales sing, all whales can make sounds. Whales sometimes gather to hunt and at these times they make feeding sounds, which often sound like grunts and groans. Scientists believe that whales are coordinating because they work together to create rings of bubbles to trap small fish.

Humpback whales are also excellent at jumping out of the water. This behavior is called breeching. Scientists are not entirely sure why whales breech, but they believe it is to communicate with one another, to remove barnacles from their skin, or simply for fun!

Whales also communicate by touch. Mother whales and their calves are in constant contact with one another. A whale's flippers are 1/3 the length of their bodies and mother whales and their calves use these to reach for one another. They also nuzzle one another. 

Incredibly, scientists recently discovered that whales are using debris in the ocean as instruments and games! These discoveries were observed off the coast of England in August by the British Whale Alliance. 

Even more incredibly, scientists believe that humpback whales are teaching other intelligent mammals how to use ocean debris to play or make music!

Research Sources:

Humpback Whale the Singer by Natalie Lunis

Whales: Diving Into the Unknown by Casey Zakroff

National Geographic Kids: Humpback Whale Facts

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