Whale breaching
When a humpback whale breaches, he essentially jumps out of the water and whirls around -- often numerous times in a row, but sometimes merely once.
The precise motives behind humpback whale breaching behavior are uncertain, according to the Whale Trust organization. However, a variety of different theories on the action do exist. One such theory is the transmission of messages. A humpback whale might, for example, want to convey to a fellow whale that he's planning on changing his course.
Breaching in humpback whales also could be a territorial action, suggests the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center. If a wary humpback whale senses an approaching intrusion or menace, he might attempt to intimidate them away from his personal turf by breaching.
Breaching could also be a standard cleanliness routine, nothing more and nothing less. By breaching, a humpback whale could simply be using motion to remove any pesky parasites that could be residing on his body.
More info:
http://animals.mom.me/meaning-humpback-whale-breaching-5781.html
#biodiversity #whalebreaching #coolcritters #marinelife
Must be so liberating to have the ocean to yourself, dolphins seem to also have a lot of fun as well.
ReplyDeleteOr... It's merely a Whale' way to "scratch an itch"
ReplyDeleteHaving 'a whale of a time'
ReplyDeleteWhat i wonder is if smart animals (say Dolphins) also "study" human behavior and discuss about that in their ways off communication?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if slapping their bodies against the water helps facilitate the exchange of blood gasses? Like getting ready to go deep or something? This could very well be way off.. just thinking aloud I guess..
ReplyDeleteMichael D Kendall You mean the whale version of a fart? ;)
ReplyDelete