Why do the humpback whales migrate?
Humpback whales undertake a great journey, about 3500 miles one way. The waters around Hawaii are relatively warm and thus offer ideal conditions to the whales in order to reproduce. Although scientists disagree humpback calves would not survive in colder waters since they are born without a blubber layer, others argue that seals, porpoise and other mammals’ young do survive. One argument that does hold merit is the fact that the orca, a strong presence in the colder waters and the one main predator to whales, does not exist in large numbers in the breeding grounds. Warm waters, however, have the disadvantage that there is hardly enough food for the whales there so they must head back to Alaska, since the cooler waters offer a “richly covered table” for the humpback whales there. During the time between the end of October and the beginning of May, the whales are on a “diet” and it is said that a full-grown humpback whale loses several tons of weight during the time it spends around Haw
