Humpback whales don't seem to mind research boat at all

This video was shot while researching whales with the Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS), for conservation purposes. Whales must be admired from a safe distance, and must not be approached, this way we can avoid accidents and stress for the animals.

The Humpback Whale is probably the most well-known whale, as it is perfect for whale-watching, displaying many aerial behaviors on its breeding grounds, such as breaching. On their feeding grounds, such as in the video, they are a lot more discrete.

It is one of the larger species in the world, with adults ranging from 12–16 m (39–52 ft) in length, and weighing around 25–30 metric tons (28–33 short tons). It has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins, and a hump on its dorsal fin, which gives it its name. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are actually hair follicles, characteristic of this species. The fluke is almost always displayed when the animal dives, and it has wavy trailing edges and a pattern that is unique to each animal.

The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is the sole member of the Megaptera genus, but it shares the Balaenopteridae family with the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus), the Omura's Whale (Balaenoptera oomurai), the Bryde's Whale (Balaenoptera brydei), the Eden's Whale (Balaenoptera edeni), the Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis), the Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and the Antarctic Minke Whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). These are called Rorquals, the largest group of all baleen whales.

Baleen whales, called Mysticeti, have filter-feeding system in their mouths instead of teeth. Baleen is similar to bristles, and are made of keratin, such fingernails, skin, hair, and horns, and are arranged in plates, attached to the upper jaw, being absent in the mid-jaw, forming two separate combs of baleen. They decrease in size as they go further back into the jaw.