ShmoopTube

00:05

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:13

Why do whales migrate?

00:15

Is it out of boredom?

00:16

Do they have a timeshare somewhere? [Whale floating in the ocean]

00:18

Actually, there are a few reasons—none of which involve resort condos. [Whale in a swimming pool]

00:22

Water temperature, ocean depth, climate change, and the biggest reason…food. [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

00:27

Different types of whales have different migration patterns.

00:30

We’re going to focus on two particular kinds of whales for now—the blue whale and the

00:33

humpback whale.

00:34

The blue whale travels to warmer waters in the winter time to give birth to its babies, [Thermometer at the top]

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and to the colder waters in the summer time for food. [Thermometer shows the temperature getting lower]

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It’s a real bummer when it gets the two mixed up. [Snowman appears]

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The blue whale travels thousands of miles to go from the tropical waters of the Southern

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Hemisphere to the cold waters of the Arctic… or the Antarctic. [Migration routes shown by arrows]

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aka Penguin Central.

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It usually stays in the colder waters for 3 or 4 months, feeding on krill.

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If it’s lucky, it’ll make a real, uh…krilling. [Whale eating the krill]

01:00

When it comes time to migrate back, the older whales tend to migrate first, with the younger [Whale with a beard and glasses]

01:04

whales coming later.

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Sorta the equivalent of elderly humans getting up at the crack of dawn, and the younger humans [Old guy outside at sunrise]

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sleeping in until 3 pm.

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During migration, blue whales eat… nothing.

01:14

Nada.

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They depend solely on the food they have stored up in their bodies.

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The females give birth in warm waters because baby whales only have a thin layer of blubber, [Baby whale]

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or fat, to keep them warm.

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And there usually aren’t any swaddling experts on hand… [Vet holding on to a baby whale in a blanket]

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Humpback whales also spend the winter in warmer waters and the summer in colder waters.

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They make these journeys every year from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere, or vice versa. [Whale travelling through the ocean on a globe]

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Just imagine how many frequent swimmer miles they must have saved up. [Whale checking frequent swimmer miles on a computer]

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Humpback whales swim very slowly during migration—

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only about one mile per hour.

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They swim slowly because they’re socializing along the way. [Speed camera shows 1mph]

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You can’t hurry good company and even better conversation… [Two whales swimming together and chatting]

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