Humpback

Humpback (aka Hump, aka The Entertainer, aka The Breaching Ballerino, aka The Assuaging Accompanist, aka The Acrobatic Israelite)

Male / follower of Moses / 14 meters long (46 ft or 6.1 Yao Mings) / 40 tons (17.7 chevy silverados) / healthy population

Humpback whale species:  

The humpback whale can be found in every ocean in the world and is a well liked species.  The humpback breaches frequently and it's songs have helped the Save the Whales movement in unmeasurable ways.  The famous cetologist, Roger Payne handed a recording of humpback songs to Judy Collins and Collins included the cetacean audio on her platinum selling album, 'Whales and Nightingales'.  There's a song on the album called "Farewell to Tarwathie" that includes the whale-songs. This song pulled on hearts of humanity and drove a movement fueled by harrowed concerns for our fellow creatures because the lyrics of the song are about lonely trips to Greenland to hunt whales for profits.  The dichotomy is touching as the two songs, one about the whalers and one by the whales, are brought together leaving you questioning yourself why.  Why hunt whales at all?

These days, people travel for miles and then board vessels to get even closer views of these water ballet artists in their natural habitat.  Video after video of breaching humpbacks, you can see them breach high out of the water, spin and land, or leap upwards and arch backwards, over and over.  They slap the water with their flukes and enormous pectoral fins.  All the while you can hear sounds of awe, astonishment, fervor, and praise.  These sounds come from the people watching.  You can feel the pure joy of modern humanity as the excitement stops the heart of crowds and all onlookers.  These humpbacks sing and dance and swing their fins around in these performances that are jaw dropping and it almost seems as if it's all for you.  They are truly entertainers that share a piece of the beauty found below the surface with all of us to see, but only for a moment and then they're gone.

Humpback the character:

The name of the humpback whale in 'The Pod' is Humpback, the common name for his species. Humpback is a faithful Jewish whale with a heart that's easy to love. When times are at their worst, he shines the brightest. You will probably love him as much as I loved writing about him. He is as important to 'The Pod' as any whale on the journey.

"Slightly Improved Version of The Humpback"

"The Humpback"