THE HUMPBACK WHALE An Endangered Species MEAGHAN HYER

INTRODUCTION The humpback whale population decreased because of commercial whaling (hunting) in the 1800s and early 1900s In 1966 commercial whaling was stopped by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. In 1973 the Endangered Species Act listed the humpback whale as endangered.

FACTS WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? – Dark gray with some areas of white – Has “pectoral” fins- up to 15 feet wide, used to slow down or go backwards HOW BIG? – adults females bigger than adult males – can grow up to 60 feet long – new babies-15ft long

FACTS WEIGHT – tons – newborns weigh about 1 ton WHAT DO THEY EAT? – tiny crustaceans(mostly krill), plankton and – small fish – up to 3000 pounds of food per day WHAT EATS IT? – killer whales HUMPBACK WHALES ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR ACROBATICS AND SINGING

WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE THEY FOUND? Live in oceans across the globe In the summer they live in Gulf of Maine in the Atlantic and Gulf of Alaska. In the winter they live in the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific and the Dominican Republic in the Atlantic

WHY IS IT ENDANGERED ? Loss of habitat because of noise from ships, boats and aircraft Logging along their migration routes polluted the ocean. Hit by ships Entanglement in fishing gear Not enough prey from competition with humans.

HOW MANY WHALES LEFT? ESTIMATED 30,000-40,000 WORLD WIDE

HOW IS THE HUMPBACK IMPORTANT TO THE WORLD? Whale watching provides enjoyment Whale watch boat trips help to earn money for the towns and boat operators Important to the food web-dead body goes to the bottom of the ocean and provides food for fish

WHY SHOULD HUMANS WORK TO SAVE THEM? So they can continue to give people enjoyment by watching them do acrobatics They provide food for other fish.

WHAT IS BEING DONE TO SAVE THE HUMPBACK? -IN 1991 A RECOVERY PLAN WAS DEVELOPED – Observe humpback in U.S waters with the aid of shipboard surveys. – Teach whale watch boats and operators of the other boats to be careful around the whales. – Protect habitat from pollution – Protect habitat from noise from ships, boats and aircraft. – Provide good nutrition by keeping track of levels of prey. – Decrease human related injury and death. – Continue to prevent hunting for whales. – Rescue whales that are entangled in fishing gear.

FURTHER HELP Keep track of number of whales being born Increase the number of trained rescuers so that if a whale gets tangled in fishing line it can be rescued Continue to educate about boat safety and pollution

HOW SUCCESSFUL IS THE RECOVERY PLAN Humpback whales are increasing in population Grown to about 20% more world wide than when they became endangered For example: British Columbia North Pacific – ,000 In fact the U.S. is studying whether to take the North Pacific Humpback off the endangered list

SOURCES ks/profile_pages/HumpbackWhale.html ks/profile_pages/HumpbackWhale.html endangered.html endangered.html eans/humpbackwhale.htm eans/humpbackwhale.htm tus.fedsummary&species=humpbackwhale tus.fedsummary&species=humpbackwhale whale-endangered-list-removal whale-endangered-list-removal populations-increase-british-columbia-8C populations-increase-british-columbia-8C