The Humpback whale belongs to the rorqual family and its scientific name is Megaptera novaengliae which means big wing and New England, which is where the location of the specimen came from. This whale is naturally very curious and will often come close up to boats and in whaling days this lead to the humpback being nicknamed the stupidest of all whales. Out of the whales it is the most migratory and can travel up to 5000 miles between summer feeding and winter mating and calving grounds usually be found alone or in small groups.

The humpback whale is not quite the same as other rorquals it is not as bloated looking as the other rorquals but more rotund. Bumps called tubercles cover the head of the humpback each of them containing a single hair similar to a cats whisker, whalers nicknamed these bumps as 'stoveboats' and there function is sensory in nature. Their flippers are their most distinguishing feature and are much longer than other whales. Their fins vary in size and shape much more than other whales and their fins and tails can often be covered in barnacles.

The humpback is a relatively large whale and can measure up to 19m or 61ft in length and an adult can weigh between 25 to 35 tons.

The humpback consume a wide variety of food, in the Southern Ocean they feed on krill and in the Northern Oceans they feed on schooling fish including mackerel, capelin, anchovy and sardines. They lunge at their prey with their mouths wide open and then expel the water through the 270 - 400 plates of baleen on each side of their mouth with the fine hairs measuring up to 2ft in length.

The humpback whale reaches sexual maturity at five years of age and the normal gestation period for a calf is one year. Calving in the northern hemisphere unusually takes place in winter time and in summer time in the southern hemisphere. Unlike other species of whale the calf will normally be weaned after one year and it is usual for a female to produce a calf once every two to three years.

First grade oil from the blubber which is edible was used for the manufacturing of margarine, and also in the production of soft soap. Oil was also extracted from meat and bones after they were pressure cooked. Meat extract was also produced from the meat and was very edible similar to branded meat extract drinks. The liver was also processed to produce liver oil for medicinal purposes. The meat residue from the pressure cookers was rendered down to make cattle feed and fertilizers. The baleen plates from the mouth which in the olden days were used for stays for ladies corsets but in modern whaling the baleen plates were discarded.