Scientists have taken notice that humpback whales may shown signs of heroic altruism in this video posted by CNN on YouTube:
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Back in 1966, after decades of whaling (including the Whaling Olympics of the 1930s), humpback numbers in the northern Pacific ocean were at most 1,400 individuals.
According to BBC news, a Japanese fleet has instructions to kill 1,000 whales, including 50 humpbacks, which have been spared from hunting since the 1960s.