An international team of marine biologists has commemorate an astounding pear-shaped - trip journey made by a grey heavyweight who ventured from Russia ’s east coast to the southerly baksheesh of Mexico ’s Baja California peninsula – and then all the way back . At 14,000 miles ( 22,500 km ) , it ’s the long migration of a mammal ever record .
For the study , the results of which now seem in the journalBiology Letters , researchers from the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute and Russia ’s A.N Severtsov Institute for Ecology and Evolution tracked the progress of seven North Pacific grayish whale using satellite - monitored tag . Three of the whales were tracked from their main feeding ground off Russia ’s Sakhalin Island across the Pacific Ocean to the North American west coast . A female person , knight Varvara , made her room south to Baja , Mexico .
To the surprisal of the researchers , Varvara then made a pear-shaped - head trip journey after venturing to all three major North American nurture areas typically worry by eastern grey whale . Her 172 - day , 14,000 mi trip transpired between November 24 , 2011 and February 2 , 2012 , and is now the foresightful mammal migration on disk .
The actualisation that the critically endangered western gray heavyweight interacts with the eastern gray giant , which is not endangered , is altering the nautical biologists ’ excogitation of both whales and their condition as two distinct coinage . There ’s also concern thatthe universe living on the westerly side of the Pacific may now be out .
“ The fact that endangered western hoar whales have such a long range and interact with eastern gray whales was a surprise and leaves a mickle of doubtfulness up in the atmosphere , ” noted Oregon State University marine life scientist and study jumper lead author Bruce Mate in arelease . “ Past studies have show genetical distinction between the species , but this suggests we may need to take a close-fitting tone . ”
Once thought extinct , the western gray whale is now approximate to consist of 18,000 individual . But if these two species represent one distinct species , it could be a sign that the giant are fix their former historic reach along the North American west seacoast .
Another possibility is that some easterly gray whales might really be westerly grays . If that ’s the case , then the number of dependable western gray whale is even small than assumed .
Read the entire study at Biology Letters : “ Critically peril westerly gray hulk transmigrate to the eastern North Pacific ” .
BiologyCetaceansMarine biologySciencewhales
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