Humpback whales are known to migrate, often north to south, to different mating and feeding grounds, however this one specific whale decided to travel to another continent.
One humpback whale just kept on going from Brazil all the way to Madagascar, which is about 6,200 miles.
No other mammal has been seen to travel this far, other than humans obviously.
According to marine ecologist Peter Stevick humpbacks are careful commuters and don├óΓé¼Γäót often change up their mating or breeding grounds. Or, if they do it is a minor change, not half the way around the world. “Not only is this an exception, but it’s a really remarkable exception at that.”
While browsing photo-sharing site Flickr one of Stevick’s colleagues found a photo of this particular humpback, taken by a Norwegian touristoff the coast of Madagascar in 2001. The photo had been taken in 2001 but sat undeveloped for years!
Stevick’s colleagues matched the Flickr photo of the humpback to a picture of the whale taken two years earlier in Abrolhos, off the Brazilian coast.
They matched the whale due to its unique tail markings and shape, which is how scientists have been able to identify humpbacks.
Still no one knows why the whale swam that far, and they most likely will not ever know.
This is a super long trip! We hope the whale can find his way home!
[Image via AP Images.]
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