The first time to fully observe the migration of a whale shark
The 18,087 km long migration of southern right whale mothers is recounted in a new report by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Some footage of southern smooth whales on their migration journey. Video: Reuters
The monitoring is part of the “Whale Tracking” project conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) of the United States, in which they tracked 18 individuals of the southern right whale through satellites. during the migration season that began last year.
In this case, the whale named “Electra” along with its young swam a total of 18,087 km. They departed from the Valdés peninsula in northeastern Argentina’s Chubut province and returned to their original location 239 days later.
“After leaving the Gulf of Nuevo in the Valdés peninsula, Electra traveled through areas located on the Argentine continental shelf and deeper waters at the edge of Talud, close to the Blue Hole. Finally, it returned to the semi-continental zone. on the island of Valdés on May 21, 2022, possibly to wean the calves born in 2021,” WCS said.
Currently, Electra remains near the edge of the Argentine continental shelf, but is not visible on camera. It is not clear to the researchers whether it still accompanies its young, or if the baby whale has finished weaning and is living on its own.
The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is a species of large baleen whale. Adults can be 15 – 18 m long and weigh 47 – 80 tons. As the name suggests, these giant creatures inhabit the oceans south of the equator, especially the waters near Antarctica.
The ‘Tracking Whale’ project will allow scientists to know in more detail the places that southern smooth whales swim through on their migration, from breeding areas to feeding areas, thereby identifying primary habitat for their life cycle.
Doan Duong (Follow Reuters)
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
