Species profile
Name: the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale – these types of whales use specialised baleen plates to filter out food from the water around them.
Appearance: humpbacks have a distinctive body shape, with long fins and knobbly heads.
Size: humpbacks are large whales, with adults reaching around 12 to 16 metres and weighing around 25 to 30 tonnes.
Diet: they mainly feed on krill and small fish such as herring and mackerel.
Did you know: humpbacks have developed innovative feeding techniques such as bubble nets – where a group of whales swim in circles below a school of fish and release a net of bubbles which traps the school, allowing them to swallow thousands of fish in one gulp. They are also known for leaping spectacularly out of the water and can produce a beautifully complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes.
Location: humpbacks are found around the world and can migrate up to 25,000 km each year – breeding and giving birth in tropical or subtropical waters then migrating to polar waters to feed.
Where to see humpback whales
According to reports submitted to WildSide, you can see humpback whales in the following places:
| Place | Chance to see | User rating | No. reports |
| Skjervoy Norway |
100% very high |
5.0 very good |
4 reports |
| Marino Ballena Costa Rica |
100% very high |
5.0 very good |
1 reports |
| Isla de la Plata Ecuador |
100% very high |
4.6 very good |
5 reports |
| Husavik Iceland |
100% very high |
3.0 good |
1 reports |
| West Cork Ireland |
0% very low |
5.0 very good |
2 reports |
| Tierra del Fuego Argentina and Chile |
0% very low |
4.0 very good |
2 reports |
| Cano Island Costa Rica |
0% very low |
3.8 good |
4 reports |
Photo credit: ArtTower under a Creative Commons license from Pixabay