Whales - underwater mammals of a mysterious sort. Here are some facts to shed some light on the whales that swim along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador:

• Humpback whales are seen most often around the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador between May and September.
• When a whale leaps out of the water so that its entire body is above the ocean’s surface, it is called breaching.
• The fin on a whale’s back is called a dorsal fin. Some whales, such as beluga and grey whales, do not have dorsal fins.
• Flippers on the side of a whale’s body are called pectoral fins, which they use for turning and stopping.
• A whale’s flukes are the fins of its tail.
• You can distinguish between individual humpback whales by the shapes and marks on their tails.
• Whales are mammals, meaning that they breathe air to live, unlike fish which have gills. Whales breathe through a blowhole at the top of their heads and if you look closely, you can see water spouting from the whale’s blowhole. You can identify some whales by the shape and height of their blow.
• There are two types of whales: toothed and baleen. Toothed whales, such as Orcas, have a set of teeth that they use to acquire and eat their food. Baleen whales have thick bristle-like panel instead of teeth that they use to catch plankton and other small marine organisms.
• Baleen is made of the same material as our teeth and hair.
• The Blue whale is the largest mammal in the world.
• When they are in cold waters, the humpback whale eats 2 tons of fish and planktonic crustaceans a day, in 2 to 4 meals.