For centuries, commercial whaling pushed great whales to the brink of extinction. Humpback whales are one of the ocean’s great recovery stories, but just because we avoided extinction doesn’t mean no damage was done. When a population is altered so dramatically, the ripple effects can last for decades and sometimes show up in unexpected ways. In this case, it changed the humpback dating scene. In a new study, researchers analyzed nearly 20 years of humpback data. In the early years of recovery, most fathers were surprisingly young. It wasn’t because females preferred them. There simply weren’t many older males left after centuries of hunting. But as populations rebound, things are changing. Older males are now fathering more calves than their younger rivals. Scientists think it comes down to experience. Humpback songs are among the most elaborate in the animal kingdom, and it may take years to master the performance. Experience, it turns out, matters. And the silver foxes of humpbac...