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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/20/researchers-puzzled-as-baby-whales-spotted-in-unexpected-places-along-australian-humpback-highway>
"Baby humpback whales are turning up in unexpected places.
In Australia, humpback mums were assumed to travel north to give birth in
warmer, tropical waters – like the Great Barrier Reef – before migrating south
with their calves along the “humpback highway” to feed in waters off
Antarctica.
But new research, published in
Frontiers in Marine Science, has flipped that
script, recording newborns as far south as Tasmania, more than 1,500km from the
assumed calving zone.
The study, which sought to understand if humpback whales gave birth beyond the
previously accepted southern limit, uncovered more than 200 confirmed sightings
of newborns across an area stretching from Queensland down to Tasmania and
across to New Zealand’s South Island.
Humpback babies – about the size of a small car – came out tail first and
floppy, said the study’s co-author and whale scientist Dr Vanessa Pirotta. They
were identified by their folded-over dorsal fins, and were generally light grey
or white.
Pirotta said more research was needed to establish why newborn calves were
being observed so far south.
“It may be the case that this has always been happening and we’ve just not
documented it well or been paying attention,” she said.
“Or it may be something new is happening because waters are becoming warmer
further south of those traditional tropical areas, which means that they’re
more favourable for a humpback whale to have a calf.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
