Fluke Lift - moves its flukes up and down above the water surface in a fluid motion with no force. Fluke Wave - lifts its flukes and part of its caudal peduncle above the water, pauses for at least two seconds, and then brings its flukes down with no force. Half Breach - leaps out of the water and exposes only half of its body, landing on its side.
Inverted Pectoral Slap - while on its back, raises its pectoral flippers straight up and slaps the dorsal surfaces down on the water's surface often an inverted pectoral slap is immediately followed by an inverted tail lob. Inverted Tail Lob - while on its back, raises its flukes above the water's surface and brings them down with force.
Kelping - "plays" with kelp or seaweed by dragging it on any body part; often it tries to position the kelp in the notch of its flukes. Mating - a male inserts its penis into a female's genital slit. Pectoral Slap - lies on its side, lifts a pectoral flipper, and slaps it on the water's surface with force.
The Magazine Shop. Login Register Stay Curious Subscribe. Planet Earth. Seriously, Science? Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news. Sign Up. Now imagine how much effort it takes for a whale weighing several thousand pounds to jump out of the water.
Why would they perform such energetically expensive activities? Small toothed whales, like dolphins, are more likely to porpoise.
Porpoising is a form of jumping defined as high-speed jumping alternated with periods of swimming close to the surface. Because air is less dense than water, the act of jumping while traveling at high speeds expends less energy than staying in the water.
Porpoising is most often connected to acts of hunting when the rate is of the essence. Check out this video of a pod porpoising. On the other hand, large whales — like a humpback — are more likely to breach. Whales do this by diving down to a sufficient depth, and then, using only their flukes or tails , they swim toward the surface.
While doing so, they need to gather enough speed to propel themselves out of the water. You can imagine such a feat requires a lot of effort to achieve. So why do it?
There are many reasons why a whale might breach. One is to pass information between conspecifics members of the same species. Humpbacks have notably been seen breaching more often when groups of whales are coming together or separating. We cannot be sure what they are communicating exactly — a salutation or display of social status. Despite how peaceful many find the ocean, it is a bustling and loud environment. The sea becomes even louder in times of storms. Therefore, it is essential to have inventive strategies to communicate with others.
Though whales can make vocal sounds to communicate, those sounds can be lost during times of louder ambient noise. We don't know for sure!! This behavior is one of the most spectacular to witness in the natural world, and often leaves quite an impression on our guests.
A HUGE whale hitting the surface of the water makes a huge noise both above and below the water. Whales carry parasites on their skin, and sometimes get itchy!
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