Search Search For Humpback Whales, Romance Comes With Age A humpback whale. Pexels As humpback whale populations recover, researchers are gaining a richer understanding of these wondrous creatures. A new study reveals it may take years for humpbacks to learn how to successfully serenade a mate.Before being decimated by whaling a century ago, there were around 120,000 humpbacks globally, but over decades their numbers were reduced by as much as 95 percent. Since countries agreed to ban commercial whaling in 1986, humpback whales have been rebounding and have nearly recovered in some regions. For a new study, researchers followed humpbacks breeding around New Caledonia, in the South Pacific, where the whales have been rebounding over the last two decades. In the early years of that recovery, older whales were scarce. But over time, young whales aged, and older whales grew more abundant. As the humpbacks recovered, researchers could see that older males were more successful at wooing mates.…