Humpback whales are famous for two things: their acrobatic leaps (called breaching) and their extraordinary songs. Male humpbacks sing long, complex songs that can last for hours. The songs change slowly over the years as new patterns spread through whale populations — a bit like a pop song that catches on and everyone starts singing.
Cape Verde is one of the few places in the world where humpback whales spend the winter months to breed and have their babies. The calves are born tail-first into the warm Atlantic water. A newborn humpback is already about four metres long — roughly the length of a small car — and weighs as much as a tonne.
Whale-watching boats go out from several islands between January and April, when the whales are most active. Seeing a humpback breach — launching its whole body out of the water and crashing back with a huge splash — is one of the most spectacular things in nature. Scientists think they breach to communicate, shake off parasites, or simply for fun.
Humpback whales were once heavily hunted, and their numbers fell very low. Conservation efforts over the past 50 years have allowed them to recover. Seeing a healthy mother and calf in the waters around Cape Verde is a wonderful sign that ocean conservation can work when people and governments make the right choices.