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Humpback whales
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Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are baleen whales that are extremely acrobatic and sing long, complex songs. Humpbacks are very social and often travel and hunt in groups (pods).

Diet and Bubble-Net Feeding: Humpback whales are filter feeders that eat tiny crustaceans, plankton, and small fish (including herring, mackerel, capelin, and sandeel). These social whales sometimes hunt cooperatively; they have developed a method of rounding up highly concentrated masses of prey using a method we call bubble-net feeding. The hunting members of a pod form a large circle and then blow a wall of bubbles as they swim to the surface in a spiral path. The cylindrical wall of bubbles makes the trapped prey swim to the surface, where the whales eat them.

Swimming: Like other whales, Humpbacks swim by moving their tail (called flukes) up and down. Fish swim by moving their tail left and right.



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