Fueling the evolution of cetacean communication is an ability , observed in dolphins , humpback whales and sperm whales , to pass songs and codas between generations and individuals .
The record for longest mammal migration was previously held by another humpback ( megaptera novaeangliae ) . But the new champ smashed the record by traveling nearly 250 miles ( 400 km ) further than the longest distance previously recorded .
Not only that , but when a wave threatened to return the seal to danger , the humpback used its massive flipper ( at five metres , the longest in the animal kingdom ) to nudge it back on .
Most findings come from bottlenose dolphins , killer whales , sperm whales and humpback whales - the species that scientists have painstakingly studied for a few decades , and now continue their work with improved gene sequencing and song analysis tools .
Sea otters use rocks to smash clams open , dolphins wrap sponges around their noses to protect themselves while they forage on the seabed , elephants swat insects with branches and humpback whales exhale curtains of bubbles to trap schools of fish .