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    "headline": "Humpback whales breach less often when other groups are within 4 km, a sign the leaps signal over distance",
    "description": "Humpback whales breach less when other groups are within 4,000 meters, a 2017 study of 94 groups found, suggesting the leaps carry long-range signals.",
    "datePublished": "2026-11-13T23:08:00+00:00",
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    "articleSection": "Pets & Animals",
    "keywords": "Ballena Marine National Park, Humpback whale, Marine Mammal Science, NOAA Fisheries",
    "articleBody": "When a humpback whale weighing up to 40 tons hurls itself out of the sea, it may be calling to whales it cannot see. A study of migrating humpbacks found the whales were significantly less likely to breach when another group was within 4,000 meters (about 2.5 miles), and more likely when the nearest neighbors were farther off. That pattern led Kavanagh, Noad and their colleagues to propose that a breach works as a long-distance message. The work appeared in the journal Marine Mammal Science in 2017. How the study worked The researchers followed 94 separate groups of migrating humpbacks. For each, they logged every surface behavior while hydrophones listened continuously underwater, and they recorded the social setting: how many whales, who joined or left, and how far away the next group was. Two kinds of surface action told different stories: Breaching, the full leap, tracked distance. It dropped off when another group was close and rose when the nearest one was beyond 4,000 meters. Slapping the water with a pectoral fin, the tail flukes or the tail stock was tied to social change inside or right next to a group, such as a group splitting or other whales joining it. The authors read this as two channels: breaches for far-off listeners, slaps for close company. Why a splash beats a song at times Humpbacks are famous singers. Males produce songs lasting from 4 to 33 minutes, and those calls can carry at least 10 kilometers. But a song is a long, complex signal. A breach is a single, sharp burst of sound from an animal that can measure 14 to 17 meters (46 to 56 feet) long. When it lands, the crash sends a burst of energy into the water around it. The study weighed social and environmental context together, so the distance effect held up alongside other factors the team logged for each group. Other explanations still in play Communication is the best-supported explanation, not the only one. The broader scientific view, as reference works summarize it, is that leaps and slaps may also be forms of play and may help knock off parasites. Humpbacks carry barnacles and specialist whale lice on their skin, and a hard landing could shake some loose. These explanations are not exclusive; a whale might breach for several reasons at once. The limits are clear. The 2017 study observed migrating whales, so it says less about breaching on feeding grounds. It shows an association with distance, not proof that a distant group heard and answered. And because a breach is brief, observers can miss some. Watching it responsibly Breaching is a big reason humpbacks became the backbone of whale-watching tourism. NOAA Fisheries asks boaters to stay at least 100 yards from large whales, and in Hawaii and Alaska it is illegal to approach a humpback that closely. Hawaii also bars aircraft within 1,000 feet. Those rules matter more for a recovering species: the global population fell to about 5,000 by the 1960s and has since climbed back to roughly 135,000. Researchers keep using sound to track whales that are hard to see, as with the recorders that showed where the elusive Omura’s whale feeds off northwest Australia. For another look at how whales use their bodies, see why captive orcas wear down their teeth on tank walls. Humpbacks in the North Pacific are now heading south toward their winter breeding grounds. Further reading NOAA Fisheries: Humpback whale Wikipedia: Humpback whale Image: Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. How we work.",
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