Editing Cetacean surfacing behaviour (section)

=== Lobtailing and slapping ===
{{see also|Tail sailing}}
<gallery widths="190" heights="180">
File:031 Humpback whale lobtailing Photo by Giles Laurent.jpg|Humpback whale lobtailing at Ísafjarðardjúp, Iceland
File:Whale tail flip.jpg|Humpback whale tail-slapping off the coast of Molokai, Hawaii
File:Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) (14902935282).jpg|Humpback whale tail-slapping with [[California sea lion]]s
File:A bowhead whale is tail-slapping in the coastal waters of western Sea of Okhotsk by Olga Shpak, Marine Mammal Council, IEE RAS.jpg|Bowhead whale tail-slapping in Shantar Islands
</gallery>

''Lobtailing'' is the act of a whale or dolphin lifting its [[fluke (tail)|fluke]]s out of the water and then bringing them down onto the surface of the water hard and fast in order to make a loud slap. Large whales tend to lobtail by positioning themselves vertically downwards into the water and then slapping the surface by bending the tail stock. Dolphins, however, tend to remain horizontal, either on their belly or their back, and make the slap via a jerky whole body movement. All species are likely to slap several times in a single session. Like breaching, lobtailing is common amongst active cetacean species such as sperm, humpback, right and [[gray whale]]s. It is less common, but still occasionally occurs, amongst the other large whales. [[Porpoise]]s and [[river dolphin]]s rarely lobtail, but it is a very common phenomenon amongst [[oceanic dolphin]]s. Lobtailing is more common within species that have a complex social order than those where animals are more likely to be solitary. Lobtailing often occurs in conjunction with other aerial behaviour such as breaching. Species with large [[flipper (anatomy)|flippers]] may also slap them against the water for a similar effect, known as [[#Pectoral slapping|pectoral slapping]].{{Cn|date=June 2023}}

The sound of a lobtail can be heard underwater several hundred metres from the site of a slap. This has led to speculation amongst scientists that lobtailing is, like breaching, a form of non-vocal communication. However, studies of [[bowhead whale]]s have shown that the noise of a lobtail travels much less well than that of a vocal call or a breach. Thus the lobtail is probably important visually as well as acoustically, and may be a sign of aggression. Some suggest that lobtailing in [[humpback whale]]s is a means of foraging. The hypothesis is that the loud noise causes fish to become frightened, thus tightening their [[school (biology)|school]] together, making it easier for the humpback to feed on them.<ref name="Weinrich1992">{{Citation|title=Evidence for acquisition of a novel feeding behaviour: lobtail feeding in humpback whales, ''Megaptera novaeangliae''|first1=Mason T. |last1=Weinrich |first2=Mark R.|last2=Schilling |first3=Cynthia R. |last3=Belt |journal=Animal Behaviour
|volume=44|issue=6 |date=December 1992 |pages=1059–1072 |doi=10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80318-5|s2cid=53270820 }}</ref> In this instance, lobtail feeding behaviour appeared to progressively spread throughout the population, as it increased from 0 to 50% of the population using it over the 9-year study.<ref name="Weinrich1992" /> As no individual under 2 years old nor any mothers were observed to use lobtail feeding it suggests that it is taught in foraging groups. The spread of lobtail feeding amongst humpback whales indicates its success as a novel foraging method.<ref name="Weinrich1992"/>

==== Gallery ====
*''[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Whales_with_raised_tail Whales with raised tail]'' on Wikimedia Commons.