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Humpback Whales By Stephen Schutz. |
A photo shows a large whale jumping up out of the water. |
Humpback whales are not fish. Unlike fish, they must come up for air. | A giant whale swims deep under the water. |
Humpback whales have two blowholes. They blow air out, and then they take air back in, just like you. | Whales at the surface blow air out of holes on their heads. |
Look at the marks on the tails.
Are any of them the same? Each humpback whale has its very own tail mark. |
Six whale tails poke out of the water. Each tail has a different pattern of spots or stripes. |
Humpback whales make nice sounds that we call "whale songs." Other humpback whales can hear these songs from far away. | A whale swims downward. |
A baby whale is called a calf. The calf drinks its mother's milk. Humpback whales are mammals. | A baby whale swims with its mother. |
Two or more humpback whales are called a pod. The pod works as a team to get food. | Two whales swim together at the surface. |
Humpback whales eat little fish and krill. But how do they catch them? | Hundreds of tiny fish and little krill swim in groups. |
First they swim in circles, blowing bubbles. The bubbles act like a net and trap their food. They swim up quickly to catch the little fish and krill. | A diagram shows a whale making a net out of bubbles. |
Humpback whales do not have teeth. They have baleen. Baleen lets water out, but traps the little fish and krill. | The baleen looks like a curtain of hair in a whale's mouth! |
Humpback whales like to jump out of the water.
They come down with a big splash.
We don't know why they do this.
Does it look like fun? THE END |
A whale jumps up high! |