Initially the young humpback whales nurse from their mothers' milk, and observe the mothers' feeding habits. They are first taught foraging through being guided by other whales even before they are ready to eat solid foods. There is little known about how they truly learn their feeding habits other than observation, although it is hypothesized that bubble nets are additionally learned through playing with bubbles. (OctoberCMS, n.d.)

Adults quickly develop intricate forms of feeding to increase the benefit while mitigating the cost. Individual feeding involves foraging, where the methods are termed as lunge feeding and bottom feeding. Lunge feeding is the process where the whale comes from underneath the prey, quickly accelerates, and opens its mouth (up to 90 degrees) to swallow tons of water and food. Bottom feeding is a similar method of scooping the sediment and crustaceans to which large plumes of mud will rise to the surface. In both methods the baleen plates filter the prey. (McMillin et al., 2019)

Humpback whales often travel and groups and participate in filter feeding near one another. It is theorized that foraging and playing with one another is what led to the bubble net feeding developing. This behavior can be individual but is most commonly done in groups. This method is when a stream of bubbles is released around the prey in a circle that is slowing closing in in order to feed easier. This can be done in groups up to 4, but is most commonly done with 2. (Garland et al., 2022)