Humpback whales VI

About the »humpback whales« series

As a certified divemaster, Patrick Samuël regularly undertakes trips and expeditions into the underwater world of the oceans. Encounters with giant creatures are certainly among his most impressive experiences.

The underwater sight of a family of humpback whales makes one feel humble. The female helps the newborn calf to swim and breathe on the surface, while the male “sings” for hours.

The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. Adults range in length from 14–20 meters and weigh up to 40 metric tons.

Males produce a complex song typically lasting 4 to 33 minutes. They can repeat them for hours and days. With up to 180 dB they are very loud. For comparison, a jet engine at take off is about 140 dB. At around 150 decibels humans eardrums will burst, and the threshold for death is estimated to be in the range of 180 to 200.

Listen to a humpback whale song and explore what it looks like as sheet music (© 2015 recorded by Patrick Samuël):

Like other large whales, the humpback was a target for the whaling industry. Humans once hunted the species to the brink of extinction; its population fell to around 5,000 by the 1960s. Numbers have partially recovered to some 135,000 animals worldwide, while entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to affect the species.