Cetaceans breed seasonally, usually in warm tropical waters, and females usually have one calf every 1-3 years. The gestation times range from 9-18 months. Whale calves can swim at or soon after birth. Mother whales care for their young for an extended period of time, usually at least a year, feeding them milk and protecting them. Young cetaceans are frequently mottled in color, camouflaging them from predators.
Newborns have a sparse covering of hair which they lose as adults.
The humpback's song can last for 30 minutes. The songs are thought to be used in attracting mates, to keep track of offspring, and for the toothed whales, to locate prey. These large whales are filter feeders and are among the largest animals on earth. They have baleen plates instead of teeth, which are used to filter tiny organisms, like krill and small fish from the water. They use their tongue to dislodge the food from the baleen and swallow it.