by Nancy Houser

Created on: July 11, 2009   Last Updated: July 12, 2009

With Denmark and Greenland getting ready to make a request to the International Whaling Commission to kill 10 humpback whales beginning in 2010, the beautiful humpback whale songs may soon fade into a memory of what once was. With the humpback whale the third most endangered whale species in the world and its hunt totally unjustified, countries like Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Japan are attempting to target a whale whose magical songs travels for miles underwater like no other.

The great gentleness and extreme affection the female humpback whales show their young calves for close to a year after birthing are almost human-like in their gestures. This makes it difficult to justify the slaughter of this beautiful and endangered majestic animal, presently being fought so strongly against by environmental groups, marine biologists and global officials. With the soulful humpback whale songs lasting up to 23 hours in durations, Japan had justified their 2007 slaughter harvest of over 1,400 whales from seven species, including 50 of the humpback whales, for the purpose of scientific studies.

Scientific Background of the Humpback Whale

The graceful humpback whale, or "Megaptera novaeangliae", originally received its name from the early Greek civilizations. The scientific name "Mega-ptera" can be divided into two parts, with -mega- referring to great and -ptera- (wing) referring to its huge wing-like flippers that reach up to 15-feet in length. With both male and female humpback whales able to produce vocal sounds, their actual complex and extensive songs are heard only from the males which can be heard within a radius of 20 miles.

Weighing in at approximately 79,000 pounds, the male humpback whales are known for their 10 to 20-minute unique and social sound productions or "songs" they produce, varying in different areas of the world and able to be repeated for hours upon hours.With humpback whale songs recorded and studied for over thirty years, researchers now consider these songs as part of the male whale's mating practices. What the researchers are unsure of is why the sounds are produced-whether to call in female humpback whales or to warn male humpback whales away from breeding territories.

History of the Humpback Whale

Since 1846 the humpback whale has been the single member of its genus "Balaenoptera" , with recent DNA studies showing they are actually closer to the Gray Whale and other rorquals. Scientists now say that if more studies confirm this fact,

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