  Each year, a war among leviathans wages beneath the waves of the South Pacific. As many as 40 male humpback whales converge near the island of Tonga to swim a brutal high-speed gauntlet, slamming their 40-ton (36-metric-ton) bodies against one another in pursuit of their prize: a single female whale in heat. The Life film crew went to great lengths to capture groundbreaking footage of this awe-inspiring mating ritual — and the whales themselves put their very lives at stake for a chance to pass on their genes.
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Watch a "Humpback Whale Heat Run"
LEADING THEM ON
All the drama of a heat run begins with but a single female humpback whale. When she comes into heat, scientists suspect she alerts distant males through distinctive sounds and possibly chemical cues. Steadily, potential suitors heed the call and gather around her.
How does she determine who will prove the best mate? From a human's point of view, she plays a little hard to get.
"If you think about it in evolutionary terms, the female is inciting competition amongst the males," said
Life producer Dr. Ted Oakes. "Presumably, the one that's left standing at the end is going to have the best genes and a proper robust physical nature."
The female instigates the gargantuan battle by simply charging off into the open waters. The males immediately give chase, reaching speeds of 10 knots.
All told, a heat run can last for hours — until only one male remains. What exactly happens next in this courtship, however, remains a mystery.
"Humpback whales have never been seen mating," Oakes said, "so presumably it happens at a greater depth following these events. The heat run is one of the most amazing animal competitions that exists, but where the final couple mates is still a mystery to biologists."
Continue: Battle for Supremacy
