Google Docs Warm-up: Reading & Personal Connection (In-Class Practice)

Humpback whales are enormous creatures — about the size of a school bus. They are known for their haunting and melodic songs and for breaching the water with amazing acrobatic abilities. Humpbacks don't normally have a hump on their backs; the name comes from the large hump that forms when they arch their backs before making a deep dive into the ocean.

Humpback whales are not the biggest whales (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. — that's the blue whale. Humpbacks can grow to 60 feet (18 meters) long, and they can weigh a whopping 40 tons (about half the size of a blue whale), according to the NOAA. Their flippers can grow up to 16 feet (5 m) long, which is the largest appendage in the world. Their tails are also massive and grow up to 18 feet (5.5 m) wide. Like most whales, females are larger than males.

Humpbacks roam all over the world, but exactly where they may be found depends on the time of year. In the summer, many humpbacks spend their time in high-latitude feeding areas such of the Gulf of Alaska or the Gulf of Maine, according to the NOAA. During the winter, they swim to the warm waters closer to the Equator, around Hawaii, South America and Africa.

Humpbacks typically travel alone or in small groups (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., called pods, consisting of two or three whales, according to Whale Facts. When together, they communicate with each other and travel together, and moms and their young even touch fins as a possible sign of endearment. Sometimes they even help each other hunt.

Humpback whales are known for their haunting songs, which are complex sequences of moans, howls and cries that often continue for hours, according to National Geographic. Only male whales sing, so scientists think they are trying to attract potential mates.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies humpbacks as least concern on its Red List of Threatened Species (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. However, as recently as 1988, humpback whales were listed as endangered. Populations have recovered, to between 30,000 and 40,000, which is about 30 to 35 percent of the population in 1940, according to the American Cetacean Society. The IUCN has a higher estimate of around 60,000 animals.

Information from https://www.livescience.com/58464-humpback-whale-facts.html

Type one or two sentences about a personal connection you made to the information that was read to you.