Two humpback whales have just completed record-breaking crossings between Australia and Brazil.
As master navigators, humpback whales follow ancestral migration paths taught by their mothers. They spend summers feasting on krill in polar waters before migrating to warmer, tropical destinations to breed. To better understand these whales’ migration patterns, scientists analyzed nearly 19,000 whale images, all taken in the past four decades by various scientists and whale research groups. They did not expect the results they would later find.
Through these images, scientists identified the two record-breaking whales by their distinctive tail markings. Further identification with recognition software helped the scientists to confirm the whales’ identities due to their tails’ jagged edges and color patterns.
Researchers identified the two distinct humpback whales at breeding sites in both eastern Australia and Brazil, setting new distance records for the species.
The two whales traveled in opposite directions, journeying further than any humpback whale has been documented traveling before. One of these humpback whales swam a staggering 9,300 miles (15,000 km.), eclipsing previous migration milestones, including a previous record-breaking humpback’s journey from Colombia to Zanzibar.
However, these photos only show the two whales at the beginning and end of their journeys, so scientists aren’t quite sure of the route they took to reach their destinations.
Humpback whales also don’t typically travel between different mating sites like these two did, so it’s uncertain why they decided to make these journeys, or how the whales knew the routes to different breeding locations to begin with. Scientists had always thought that these two populations existed relatively isolated from one another, so these two crossings were especially surprising to them.
In an email, study co-author Stephanie Stack with the Pacific Whale Foundation wrote how, “Finding not one but two individuals that have crossed between Australia and Brazil challenges what we thought we knew about how separate these populations really are.”
Whale watching in Brazil
Whale watching in Brazil offers spectacular opportunities to see humpback and southern right whales from May through November, when these gentle giants migrate from Antarctica to warmer Brazilian waters to breed and nurse their calves.
Whale watching in Australia
Whale watching in Australia is a spectacular experience running from May to November, when over 60,000 humpback whales migrate along the coastlines. Depending on where you are, you can also spot blue whales, orcas, and southern right whales.
If you love ocean life, see our guide on the Best Aquariums in the US.
