lobtail

[ lob-teyl ]

verb (used without object)

1. (of a whale) to slap the flukes against the surface of the water.

Word History and Origins

Origin of lobtail¹

1865–70 (as gerund); apparently lob ¹ in sense “to move heavily” + tail ¹

Example Sentences

One example Whiten pointed to was how humpback whales learned to slap the sea surface with their tails, a trick known as "lobtail feeding."

From Salon

While so-called "bubble feeding" was already known for decades, lobtail feeding was first recognized in 1980, spreading over two decades and creating a new hunting tradition for hundreds of other humpbacks.

From Salon

The enhanced hunting technique, called lobtail feeding, quickly spread along known lines of humpback social groups, aided, researchers suspect, by the cetacean talent for acrobatic mimicry among members of a pod.

From New York Times

Today, more than 600 humpbacks are lobtail feeders.

From New York Times

In 1980 a single whale was first seen engaging in a novel feeding behaviour called ‘lobtail feeding’.

From Scientific American