Humpback whale

Humpback Whale

By: Tom



Early life

I am a baby humpback whale just born 5 days ago. My mom immigrants from
Alaska to this warm and beautiful Hawaii to give birth.

Me and my mom will share the strongest of bonds for one year, she will shoot out
milk that injected into my mouth.

Me and my mom are often found resting. My mother lies in a horizontal position
and then I will position myself directly below the mother’s chin or tucked under a
flipper.



Until Spring

Like other baby mammals, I love to play! Mimicry of the mother, or the male
escort, and breaches, spy hops, tail throws and other common adult behaviors. I
also play with objects in their environment such as sticks, boats or even a diver! I
sometimes play with each other, and seem to be prohibited from doing so by the
mothers.

Me and my mom will share the strongest of bonds for one year, she will shoot out
milk that injected into my mouth. She have to fatten-up me so it is big and strong
enough to be able to migrate with her back up to Alaska.



The long journey

It is spring now, we have to head south now. We migrate around 3000 km on
average across open water in rough seas and with strong winds, as a pod
consisting of two or three whales.

Our pod can swim 24 hours a day. That means we can be covering 100 miles in a
day, cover these rather long distances in a month or two. If there is a storm, we
have move to a calmer water for my safety.



Difficulties of the journey

I always have to be vigilant and stick to my mom. My moms and her friends are
very large so they have no natural predators. But i am a tasty a favorite meal for
killer whales, who will separate the calves from their mothers before chowing
down.

Also, we have to avoid randy male humpbacks, who often seek mates and
interrupt important nursing time. They can separate me and mom, I will get lost.

To keep me save, me and my mom will whisper to hide the presence of me from
killer whales lurking nearby. The vocalizations were 40 decibels lower than male
whales.



New home

Finally, I arrive at my mom feeding ground, but there are still threat for us.

My mom are very large but must always be afraid and wary of people.
Vessel-generated underwater noise can affect my mom, and other marine
mammals by decreasing the distance over which they can communicate and
detect predators and prey.

My mom could get hits by boat, I will not have milk to drink. I can entangled in
fishing gear and I maybe get injured or may even die. Human even hunts me for
meat and bubbler, or catch us for entertainment.

Human also polluted our habitats with chemicals and trash.