East Antarctica: Humpback Whales Galore
Humpback whales come to the Antarctic water in the southern summer time to feed on krill, consuming massive amounts of these small crustaceans before heading north for baby-birthing in winter. Humpback are the most fun-to-watch whales with all the jumping and breaching, and diving, and fluke display. They have the longest flippers of any whales, and are also easily recognizable by their tail flukes, which are white and black, and unique to every individual. Humpbacks feed all around the rich Antarctic waters and the cold waters of the Antarctic convergence. Humpback are baleen whales, meaning their are filter feeders, gulping and sifting our the ocean water and swallowing around a ton of krill and fish that gets stuck to the baleen plates that are made from keratin, like human hair. Once fed and fat, humpbacks migrate for reproduction up toward the equator – Tonga and Madagascar are well known for whales.
