Two humpback whales set records swimming between Australia and Brazil
Researchers used 19,283 photos to match the whales by tail markings, and only 0.01% of 20,000 identified humpbacks made such crossings.
- On Tuesday, researchers identified two humpback whales that made record-breaking crossings between Australia and Brazil, traveling over 15,000 kilometers according to findings published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
- Using the citizen science platform Happywhale, scientists analyzed over 19,000 whale images from the past four decades to track movements between breeding sites that typically remain distinct populations.
- One whale traveled a straight-line distance of 14,200 kilometers between Hervey Bay, Australia, and São Paulo, Brazil, while another identified in 2003 off the Abrolhos Bank in Brazil was later spotted in Australian waters.
- Stephanie Stack, a researcher with the Pacific Whale Foundation, said the discovery challenges long-held beliefs about population separation: "There's never been any photographic evidence linking these two populations before."
- These findings help scientists track humpbacks as climate change alters ocean conditions and krill distribution, providing insight into migration patterns and genetic diversity across the Southern Hemisphere.
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72 Articles
Two humpback whales swam on record routes between two continents – and thus question previous assumptions about their populations.
Scientists documented a new chapter in the history of the migration of jubart whales: two animals were identified in movements between breeding areas in Australia and Brazil, crossing more than 14,000 kilometers of open ocean. One of them hit a record when travelling at least 15,100 kilometers between two records, the greatest distance already confirmed for an individual of the species.
Scientists have spotted two humpback whales making separate, record-breaking voyages between Australia and Brazil. The whales were identified by distinctive patterns on their tails at two locations about 14,500 kilometers apart.
2 Humpback Whales Set Record for Longest Journey Between Breeding Locations, Swimming Over 9,000 Miles
Researchers say of the thousands of whales photographed for the study, only two humpbacks made the record-breaking tripA humpback whale breaching out of the waterCredit: Pacific Whale FoundationNEED TO KNOWTwo humpback whales set records for the longest documented migrations between breeding grounds in Australia and BrazilResearchers identified the whales using unique tail fluke markings, following thousands of photos contributed by scientists a…
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