A humpback whale dives under the water at a whale watching point, off Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the water.
A humpback whale jumps at a whale watching point, off Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Males produce a complex whale song, which lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and is repeated for hours at a time. The purpose of the song is not yet clear, although it appears to have a role in mating.
Tourists watch a humpback whale at a whale watching point, off Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 15,000 miles each year. Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or sub-tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter.
A humpback whale jumps at a whale watching point, off Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Due to over-hunting, its population fell by an estimated 90 percent before a whaling moratorium was introduced in 1966. Stocks of the species have since partially recovered.
Tourists eagerly scan for whales at a whale watching point off Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, humpbacks are now sought out by whale-watchers, particularly off parts of Australia, Japan and the United States.
A humpback whale dives under the water at a whale watching point, off Okinawa, southwestern Japan, Tuesday, March 25, 2008.