Humpback Whales are sticking around!

Humpback whales are one of the largest and most distinguished sea animals on the planet, weighing in at around 40 tons and growing to huge lengths of around 62.5ft. They’re easy to find and always the main attraction, this mammal is a gentle giant. They are extremely social and intelligent animals that live in pods of around 15 individuals ranging from infants to adults.

These immense species have and still do face many concerning threats to their daily and overall survival, such as:

• Harpooning and hunting

• Collisions with ships and fishing boats

• Entanglement within fishing nets and equipment

• Toxic spills within the Ocean

• Reduction in prey

• Noise pollution from commercial shipping

All of these threats equally have a huge negative impact on the individuals and the population as a whole. There have been many efforts put in place in order to combat these threats and to eradicate all danger for these animals. Many organisations around the world have placed a ban on commercial whale hunting. Also, many conservation associations have been set-up in order to clear up the Oceans of various fishing equipment and to help injured marine mammals in the process.

Within the Atlantic Ocean, the Humpback whale population is on the rise. It was estimated that the population was once totalled around 27,000 whales in that part of the world. Due to many of the threats listed above the population began to decline. A very recent new study suggests that Humpback whales are almost back to that figure coming in at 25,000.

My Thoughts…

There is still a lot of work to be done in order to preserve these species within today’s climate. There have been recent reports proposing that the diet that these whales require is becoming harder to access, as there is less food available due to the effects on the ecosystem that climate change is having. There should be more organisations such as: MMRN (Marine Mammal Response Network) that help to create projects and programs to actively help these amazing animals within the waters.