Last week, for a change, Sunday was hump day.

Though it wasn’t the middle of the week, it was definitely hump day for the whale watchers who were called to a secluded south shore beach.

The hump in question belonged to a humpback whale that had washed ashore. This creature was long dead, and members and volunteers of the New England Aquarium, WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) were called in to perform a necropsy.

Though involved in this examination of a deceased humpback, I prefer to imagine a time when this giant roamed the seas.

The scientific name of the humpback whale is Megaptera novaeangleae, which translates to huge-winged New Englander, describing one of its native regions and one if its signature features.

Humpbacks are known for their long pectoral fins, and they boast the longest fins of any whale. Their fins are so large, in fact, that it is no wonder that other creatures have made their home on them. Three types of barnacles and a species of whale lice happily reside on their spacious surface.

These large fins are attached to a large whale. The humpback can reach lengths of up to 60 feet, the length of a full-sized school bus, with the bigger ones generally being female. Weighing up to 50 tons, it is not surprising that two excavators were needed on Sunday to move the whale out of the surf line and onto the beach.

Humpback whales belong to the suborder Mysticeti, which comes from a Latin root word meaning “mustached.” Their mustache is not one to be shaved, but to be admired: the term refers (with ancient imprecision) to the whale’s baleen, which is between their lips, not above them. Instead of teeth, these whales have plates with coarse bristles, called baleen, that filter food.  Small fish, krill, copepods, and other plankton constitute the majority of a humpback’s diet.

They are voracious eaters, and have been known to consume up to 9,000 pounds of food per day in their two major meals. Catching all of that food is easy for the humpback whale, as it has developed a unique way of fishing. Humpbacks are the only whales to have developed this special fishing method called “bubble net feeding.” In bubble net feeding, one or more humpbacks encircle their prey and blow bubbles that surround and corral their victims.

Humpbacks are also know for their distinctive breaching behavior. Throwing their bodies above the water and landing with a mighty splash could certainly be used to stun fish or other prey; but it may also be a form of communication, a means of wiping parasites off the skin, or a show of just plain exuberance.

Feeding only occurs in the winter for these whales. They dine in the north, often up around the pole, before beginning their migration south to breed and will live off of their fat reserves over the summer season. Humpbacks have been known to travel great distances to reach their calving grounds. In one study, humpbacks roamed over 5,000 miles, traveling the furthest of all of their migrating mammal brethren.

Once they arrive in their tropical or subtropical destination, they are ready to breed. Humpbacks birth one calf every few years. Gestation is around 11 months and the young will nurse (remember they are mammals). A humpback mother’s milk is pink and can be up to 60 per cent fat. One calf can drink 100 pounds of milk per day, and will be weaned within one year.

Humpback whales are protected under both the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Though their population is stable at about 35,000 animals worldwide, this is about 40 per cent down from their pre-whaling era numbers.

Both male and female humpback whales make sounds, although only the male is known to sing. Since they lack vocal cords, all the sounds produced result from pushing air through their nasal cavities. The meaning of their songs remains a mystery to us, but I don’t think it’s too much to imagine that it has something to do with the joy of being one of the world’s largest mammals, yet still be able to fly on magnificent large wings over the mountains and canyons of the world’s oceans.

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown.