In a study published this Wednesday by the journal Royal Society Open Sciencescientists have documented the longest migration ever recorded for a humpback whale. And for good reason, a male specimen traveled more than 13,000 kilometers, from the eastern Pacific Ocean to the western Indian Ocean, reports the Spanish newspaper The Country. This journey exceeds the previous known record for these cetaceans by 3,715 kilometers.
Humpback whales are accustomed to migratory journeys. They usually move between tropical waters to breed and colder waters to feed. However, this male apparently did not follow this pattern. Observed in Colombia in 2013 then in 2017, it was spotted again in 2022 near Zanzibar.
Several possible theories
Ekaterina Kalashnikova, a biologist involved in the study, suggested several hypotheses to explain this unusual journey. “Among the factors that could be at the origin of this phenomenon are global climate change, extreme environmental events (more frequent nowadays) and the evolutionary mechanisms of species,” she explained to the BBC.
Indeed, the population of humpback whales appears to be increasing, leading to new movements towards other breeding areas. For the moment, it is impossible for scientists to determine the exact causes that pushed this specimen to travel such a distance.
A unique identification
The whale was identified using photos of its tail fin, a unique identification method used by researchers. In fact, these fins are specific to each specimen like a fingerprint. The data comes in part from the Happywhale site, a citizen science platform that uses artificial intelligence to track the movements of these cetaceans on the planet.
