Illustration of humpback whale
humpback whale
noun
: a large baleen whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) that is black above and white below and has very long flippers and fleshy tubercles along the snout
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For example, in California, the limit is three entanglements of humpback whales before triggering a calendar-year closure of commercial fishing; the MMPA changes could raise that limit to 30 entanglements, Shester said.
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Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
Annual migrations cause adult humpback whales to lose twelve tons of blubber.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
When studying humpback whale bones off the coast of British Columbia, University of Victoria and Oceans Networks Canada staff scientist Fabio De Leo found no evidence of this crucial worm.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 Oct. 2025
The correspondent then takes viewers to Coiba National Park, which lies 15 miles on an island off the coast of Panama and is now in the middle of the world’s largest shark and humpback whale superhighways.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
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Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
Annual migrations cause adult humpback whales to lose twelve tons of blubber.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
When studying humpback whale bones off the coast of British Columbia, University of Victoria and Oceans Networks Canada staff scientist Fabio De Leo found no evidence of this crucial worm.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 Oct. 2025
The correspondent then takes viewers to Coiba National Park, which lies 15 miles on an island off the coast of Panama and is now in the middle of the world’s largest shark and humpback whale superhighways.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humpback whale
Cite this Entry
“Humpback whale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humpback%20whale. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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