Two humpback whales have been sighted in separate breeding grounds off Australia and Brazil, the first time scientists have seen the species travel such vast distances across the Southern Ocean during their lifetimes.
An article published in the Royal Society Open Science journal on Wednesday is the upshot of using tens of thousands of images of the sea-dwelling mammals' unique tails (or flukes) to identify the creatures and their movement habits.
Somewhat like human fingerprints, the markings on humpback whales' flukes or tails are unique, making it possible to identify individuals from photo recordsImage: Joseph Prezioso/Anadolu/picture alliance
Where were the two whales seen, and when?
One whale was spotted in Queensland, off Australia's eastern coast, in 2007 and then again in 2013. It subsequently appeared near Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2019 — two points separated by roughly 14,200 kilometers (8,823 miles). The other whale was first observed off the coast of Bahia in Brazil in 2003, and then 22 years later off Hervey Bay in Queensland, 15,100 kilometers away.
