18 February: Humpback Whales

February is Humpback Whale awareness month. 10 things you might not know about humpback whales:

1. They have a hump in front of their small dorsal fin, which is why they are called humpback whales. The Latin name is Latin name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means "big wing of New England." This refers to their large pectoral fins and the fact that Europeans first spotted them off the coast of New England.
2. Humpbacks can grow to 60 feet (18 meters) long, and they can weigh 40 tons, but they’re not the largest whales. This is the blue whale, which is twice as big.
3. Their flippers can grow up to 16 feet (5 m), the largest appendage of any animal in the world.
4. Humpbacks often propel themselves above the Water and then splash back down. This is called breaching. They also do something called spyhopping (rising nose-first out of the water) and penduncle throws (raising their rear torso and tail out of the water, twist, and slamming onto the ocean surface), and flapping their pectoral fins like wings. It’s not known why they do it. The boring theory is that it dislodges pests from their bodies; the less boring theory is that they do it simply because it’s fun.
5. Humpback whales are baleen whales. This means they don’t have teeth, but instead have 270 to 400 fringed overlapping plates hanging down from each side of the upper jaw. These are made of keratin, the same stuff human Hair and nails are made of. They eat by taking big gulps of water and using the plates to filter food from it.
6. Humpbacks are unique among whales for a co-operative hinting technique called 'bubble netting'. The whales dive below a school of fish, then spiral back upwards blowing air bubbles as they go. As the bubbles rise they disorientate and trap the fish into a tight ball. The whales swim quickly upwards into the shoal and gulp down a concentrated mouthful of fish. This behaviour is often performed in groups; some groups know how to do it and others don't, suggesting it’s a behaviour they learn rather than it being instinctive.
7. Humpback whales are known for their haunting songs. Only the males sing, which has led scientists to believe that they do so to attract a female. Each humpback population has its own song. Males within the population sing the same song, although it will gradually change from year to year. The songs have an audio frequency between 80 and 4,000 hertz and can be heard 20 miles away. That said, whale calves sometimes vocalise to their mothers much more quietly, like whispering, and their sounds only travel a short distance. This may help them to avoid predators and big males.
8. A female humpback has a baby every two to three years. Their pregnancies last about 12 months. Newborns are between 10 and 15 feet (3 to 4.5 m) long and weigh up to a ton (907 kg). Their mother's milk is 45-60% fat and the calf will drink about 158 gallons (600 litres) of milk per day.
9. Humpback whales migrate farther than any other mammal on Earth. In the summer, they typically spend their time in high-latitude feeding areas and in winter, they swim to warmer waters closer to the Equator. The longest ever recorded migration was 11,706 miles (18,840 km), when a whale went from American Samoa to the Antarctic Peninsula.
10. The shape and colour pattern on their dorsal fins and flukes is unique to each individual, like human fingerprints.

Character birthday

Ultimeck: An android invented by Obsidian and Phazer of the group of Villains known as the Sinister Squad. It was designed so that only they can re-programme or control it. It was first activated on this date.