Page 68 - World of Animals - Issue #41
P. 68
All about the humpback whale
Inside the humpback whale
With a four-chambered heart that weighs as much
as three grown men, these marine mammals are
true ocean giants. Check out their inner workings
and see what makes these whales tick
The benefit of baleen
Blowholes
The humpback’s baleen plates hang from the upper
jaw and are long, hair-like structures that look like
the teeth of a comb. Humpbacks have around 600
baleen plates. Baleen is made of keratin – the same Tongue
stuff that makes up our fingernails and hair. It’s rigid
and strong, ideal for filtering krill.
Baleen
Rostrum
The whale’s
rostrum, or
‘face’, is long,
narrow and
pointed
HUMPBACK WHALE
Megaptera novaeangliae
Class Mammalia
Territory Across all oceans
Diet Carnivore Ventral grooves
Lifespan Up to 80 years
Adult weight 36,000kg
(79,366Ib)
Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
INFANCY JUVENILE MATURITY
New-born whale First migration Yearling Leaving mum Subadult stage
0 months 6 months 1 year 1 year approx 3-4 years
Born in winter in warm waters, calves In spring, the calf accompanies its mother Still swimming with its mother, at a year On the return from the feeding Subadult whales cruise the
are 3-4.5m (9.84-14.8) long. They are to feeding grounds. She is nursing and old the calf will be roughly 8-10m (26.2- grounds, the mother will then leave feeding grounds to fatten up
positively buoyant and swim right away. needs to eat to pass energy to her calf. 32.6) long and learning to hunt and feed. the grown calf to live on its own. before migration.
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