Humpback whales have made a remarkable recovery in Puget Sound and throughout the Salish Sea. While their numbers vary through the season, they can be seen in almost any month of the year. In essence, this has been a return to waters they formerly used prior to commercial whaling that wiped out the local population. Humpback whales around the world have made strong recoveries from whaling and now number some 30,000 in the North Pacific but there are some major differences in how populations in different areas have fared. Humpbacks are baleen whales that engulf small prey including krill and schooling fish and show a remarkable variety of feeding behaviors including cooperative feeding. Despite recovery, they still face a variety of human impacts including entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes.
Overview
Overview
Humpback whales have made a remarkable recovery in Puget Sound and throughout the Salish Sea. While their numbers vary through the season, they can be seen in almost any month of the year. In essence, this has been a return to waters they formerly used prior to commercial whaling that wiped out the local population. Humpback whales around the world have made strong recoveries from whaling and now number some 30,000 in the North Pacific but there are some major differences in how populations in different areas have fared.
