Humpback Whale Breaching

Named for their massive bow-shaped skulls, these remarkable creatures earned their name from the hump on their back and their characteristic behavior of leaping out of the water, arching their bodies, and resembling a "hump" while breaching. This is when they gracefully propel their bodies entirely out of the water and splash back down, a particularly amazing feat considering that they can weigh up to 80,000 pounds! Humpback Whales breach when courting, as a way to communicate or play, and during their migration, which spans thousands of miles. Humpback Whales have existed in their current form for several million years, but they remain extremely vulnerable to the threat of extinction caused by entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, climate change, and continued whaling practices in certain countries.