Daily Mail, By DAVID DERBYSHIRE, 13th October 2010
A humpback whale has swum into the record books after travelling a quarter of the way around the world.
In the longest recorded migration of any mammal, the female travelled 6,200 miles from the coast of Brazil to Madagascar.
Her incredible journey was more than twice as far as humpbacks usually manage on a single migration.
 |
| Marathon: The female humpback was first spotted off Madagascar |
The fact that she is a female makes it even more unusual, as they are usually far less adventurous than male humpbacks.
The whale was first photographed by researchers from a boat as she cruised off the east coast of Brazil in 1999.
Just over two years later, she was one of a trio of whales spotted in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar’s east coast by a commercial whale watch boat, and identified by the distinctive markings on her tail.
The extraordinary journey has only just come to light because the slides of her tail markings have only recently been sent to Dr Peter Stevick, of The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, for analysis.
‘This is about 2,500miles longer than any previously reported movement between breeding grounds,’ said Dr Stevick.
‘Why this whale made this journey we do not know. Both the habitats in Brazil and Madagascar are popular for breeding, so there would have been no particular preference for environmental reasons. It would not have been because the waters were warmer, or anything like that.
‘We also do not know what happened to the whale between sightings, or where it has been since.’
FACT FILE
- The world's 80,000 humpback whales spend winters breeding and giving birth in the tropics, then head 3,000 miles north or south to the polar seas to feed.
- Normally they return to the same spots each year. It is unclear if the whale's epic trip was deliberate or the result of a navigational accident
- The males are famed for their complex songs which can last up to 20 minutes and are repeated for hours. The songs change gradually from year to year and whales from different parts of the world have different songs.
- Adult humpback whales range in length from 39ft to 52ft and weigh about 36 tons. They get their name from their distinctive body shape.
