The Whale's Winter Song

Every winter, humpback whales leave the cold northern seas and swim toward warm tropical waters. The journey can cover thousands of miles, and the whales travel in small groups called pods. They are heading to the places where their babies are born, because the warm water is safer and more gentle for a newborn calf.

While they travel, the whales sing. A humpback song can last for twenty minutes and can be heard many miles away. Only the males sing, and each song is made of repeating parts that slowly change and develop over time, so all the whales in one ocean sing the same new version together. Scientists are not sure why the whales sing, but some think the song helps the males find a partner, and others think it is a way for the whales to talk to one another.

A whale does not breathe through its mouth, because it has a blowhole on top of its head, and it comes to the surface to take a breath of air before a deep dive, and a whale can stay under the water for almost an hour without coming up. Humpbacks are known for their huge leaps, when they throw their whole body out of the water.

Watching a whale leap and crash back down is an amazing sight that people never forget, and when spring comes, the whales swim north again with their new calves, and the calves grow strong and healthy on their mother's rich milk. Whales are not fish, because they are animals that breathe air, just like people. The mother teaches the calf to find food and to stay safe in the big ocean.

Humpbacks eat tiny sea creatures called krill, which are smaller than a finger. The whales open their huge mouths, take in water full of krill, and push the water out. A grown humpback can eat a ton of krill in one day.

The ocean is a big and beautiful home for these gentle giants.

The songs of the whales echo through the water all year long, and every whale has its own way of singing. People love to listen to the whale songs and learn from them. The winter journey of the whales is one of the great wonders of the sea. Each year, the whales return to the same warm waters to raise their young, and the ocean fills with the sound of their amazing songs.