Humpback Whales Page #2

---

Many whales feed individually,

but Melancholy and his crew have

learned a really cool strategy.

They can capture more fish

by working together as a team.

When we hear the feeding calls

and see the whales

group together,

we know we're in

for quite a show.

What happens next is

one of the most incredible

and complex animal behaviors

ever observed.

It's called

"group bubble-net feeding."

The first step is always

the synchronized dive.

Some of the whales dive deep

underneath the school of herring

to drive them up

towards the surface.

With their long

pectoral flippers,

they can outmaneuver

fast-moving prey.

The bubble specialist

blows a stream of bubbles,

forming a spiraling wall of air

that acts like a net to keep

the fish from getting away.

The designated vocalizer begins

to make almost

deafening sounds...

(high-pitched vocalizing)

scaring the fish up

towards the surface.

(high-pitched vocalizing)

(high-pitched vocalizing)

(water gurgling)

Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh,

oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh,

oh-oh-oh

Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh,

oh-oh-oh, oh, oh

Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh

Do, ooh-ooh-ooh,

ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh

Do, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh...

The humpback mouth

expands so wide,

they could swallow a small car.

Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh,

oh-oh-oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh,

oh, oh

Oh-oh-oh, oh, oh...

They can eat up to a ton of food

in a single day.

That's like 8,000 hamburgers.

(birds singing and squawking,

whales bellowing)

(whale bellowing)

Well, as it starts to get cold

up here in the fall,

Melancholy, Vulture and all

the other whales begin to leave.

They'll travel

thousands of miles

down to their warm-water

breeding areas

like Costa Rica,

Mexico and Hawaii.

NARRATOR:

Some humpbacks migrate

5,000 miles one way every year...

One of the longest known

migrations of any mammal.

There are 15 distinct

populations of humpback whales,

located in all the oceans

of the world.

They feed in polar

and subpolar regions,

and breed and give birth

in the Tropics.

(bird squawking in distance)

Each winter,

the Hawaiian Islands host

the largest gathering of

humpbacks in the North Pacific.

Thousands of whales.

Humpbacks may live

up to 80 years or more.

They seem as curious about us

as we are about them.

(whales singing)

Other whales and dolphins

vocalize,

but humpbacks make

a greater variety of sounds

than any other whale...

- including grunts...

- (whale grunts)

- groans...

- (whale groaning)

- thwops...

- (deep burbling)

- snorts...

- (snorting)

- and barks.

- (high-pitched barking)

When humpbacks leap, or breach,

they make it look easy.

No other whale

leaps so high so often.

We're not exactly sure

why they do it,

but we're glad they do.

I had a dream

so big and loud

I jumped so high

I touched the clouds

Whoa, oh, oh, oh,

oh, oh, oh

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I stretched my hands

out to the sky

We danced with monsters

through the night

Whoa, oh, oh, oh,

oh, oh, oh

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I'm never gonna look back,

whoa, oh

I'm never gonna

give it up, no

Please don't wake me now

Whoo, whoo, ooh, ooh

This is gonna be

the best day of my life

Whoo, whoo, ooh, ooh

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

Whoo, whoo, ooh, ooh

S' Whoo S'

Whoo, whoo, ooh, ooh

- Whoo

- (squeaks)

I howled at the moon

with friends

And then the sun

came crashing in

Whoa, oh, oh, oh,

oh, oh, oh

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

But all the possibilities

No limits, just epiphanies

Whoa, oh, oh, oh,

oh, oh, oh

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

I'm never gonna

look back, whoa

I'm never gonna

give it up, no

Just don't wake me now

- (music pauses)

- (man chuckles)

- Whoo, whoo, ooh, ooh

- (whooping)

This is gonna be

the best day of my life

Whoo, whoo, ooh, ooh

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

Whoo, whoo, ooh, ooh

This is gonna be

the best day of my life

Whoo, whoo, ooh, ooh

My li-i-i-i-i-ife.

(song ends)

(whale singing)

(whale singing)

On a quiet morning in Hawaii,

you can hear

hundreds of humpbacks

in their hidden world below,

all singing at once.

(whale sings)

A reminder of how their songs

began changing our hearts

so many years ago.

(whales singing)

Today, Dr. Jim Darling lowers

the hydrophone into the water,

just as he did decades ago

when Roger Payne

first invited him here

to record humpback whales.

(whale singing)

For scientists like Jim,

finding singers isn't easy,

but there are clues.

When whales dive, they leave

a slick spot on the surface...

what researchers call

a footprint.

(singing)

Sometimes when Jim looks down

through the footprint,

he spots a singer.

(whales singing)

All the singers in Hawaii

start each breeding season

singing the same song.

(whale singing)

Incredibly, when one singer

changes his song,

they all adopt

those same changes.

(singing)

By comparing the latest song

against previous versions,

Jim can pinpoint

exactly what has changed.

Jim's colleague,

Dr. Meagan Jones,

helps him search

for those changes in the song.

(singing)

JONES:

Two years ago, Jim recorded

a song with a really

distinctive phrase.

That's really different.

(whales barking, singing)

We started calling it "chuckles"

because it made us laugh.

(barking, singing continue)

But this year, the chuckles

are starting to disappear.

(barking continues)

(burbles)

(singing)

NARRATOR:

After years of study,

scientists were surprised

to discover

the singers were all males.

(singing)

(groaning)

(singing)

While the males

are busy singing,

what are the females up to?

Dr. Meagan Jones studies

the behavior

of female humpbacks.

It's not easy,

because they spend 90%

of their time underwater,

out of sight.

So she catches only glimpses.

(barking)

(singing)

JONES:
One of the most

important questions

I'm trying to answer is

how females choose their mates.

(singing)

No one has ever observed mating

between humpbacks.

But we often see a male and

female pair resting together.

Just before and just after,

we see males fighting

over the females.

The battle-scarred male escort

is actually on guard,

watching and listening

for his rivals.

When intruders show up,

he tries to fight them off.

(grunts)

(grunts)

20 males pursuing

just one female.

We think the males are vying

for the prime spot,

closest to the female.

NARRATOR:

The escort will use

all kinds of tactics

to defend his position.

He streams bubbles.

He lunges...

charges...

and even collides

with other males.

JONES:
ls the female

leading these males?

Or is she being chased?

We're not sure...

but we think she wants to mate

as soon as possible

so she can return to Alaska

and resume eating.

For whales, bigger mothers

often make better mothers.

She needs to be

in the best physical condition

when she gives birth

the following year.

(singing)

This chase lasted

four grueling hours.

We think the competition

may allow the female

the opportunity to select

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes