Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae

Where do humpback whales live?

It depends on the season! Humpback whales make long seasonal migrations between high-latitude (closer to the poles) summering grounds and low-latitude (closer to the equator) wintering grounds. The humpback whale is distributed worldwide in all ocean basins, though it does not occur in Arctic waters.

What do humpback whales eat?

Humpbacks are baleen whales which means they filter their food through baleen plates. They consume krill, anchovies, cod, sardines, mackerel, capelin, and others sorts of schooling fish. Some humpback whales feed by making "bubble nets" around their prey. Several whales blow bubbles through their blow holes and swim in a circle pattern so that the prey is trapped in the center of the "net." Then the whales swim right up through the center of the bubbles and ingest the prey.

Learn more about humpback whales!