Humpback whale  (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Humpbacks are baleen whales; they have large, sieve like plates of baleen (a similar material to human hair or nails) hanging down from the inside of their mouths which function to filter planktonic organisms from the water (2). Individuals can open their mouths widely, due to the throat grooves, and thus engulf large quantities of water (8). Humpbacks often lunge into a shoal of prey but have also been observed herding their prey into clusters or using a 'bubble net' to effectively trap greater numbers. During this process, a number of whales will circle underwater emitting a continuous stream of air which traps fish in the centre of the ring, the whales then surface up through their 'net' gorging on the contents within (2). During the summer months, humpbacks must feed intensely as they do not feed again during either the migration or the time spent in tropical breeding grounds (8).

Males compete for females directly by escorting receptive mates and aggressively defending them, their famous 'song' is also thought to be a form of courtship (8). Solitary males sing highly complex songs that are similar within a population but evolve over successive seasons (8). Calves are born after a 10 to 12 month gestation period, they accompany their mother on the return migration to polar feeding grounds, and studies have shown that individuals return to the same feeding ground consistently year after year (8). Possibly one of the best-known aspects of humpback whale behaviour is their acrobatic aerial display; the most spectacular of which is breaching, when the body of the whale may completely leave the water, returning with an enormous splash (7).