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Young World
Amazing journey
SUBAJAYANTHI
Photo : AP
Traveller’s tale : Extraordinary lifestyle of the humpback whale.
It is one of the most remarkable journeys by any creature on the planet — and it is made by one of the biggest creatures known to science. Researchers have shown that humpback whales travelling between breeding grounds off the west coast of Central America and feeding grounds off Antarctica clocked up more than 5,000 miles on one leg of their journey — the largest recorded journey by any individual mammal. The researchers believe the whales are heading for warmer waters in which to give birth to their calves. Mark Simmonds, director of science at the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, who was not involved in the research, said: “It has this extraordinary lifestyle with its breeding grounds in one place and its feeding grounds far away.” “Just like humans have unique fingerprints, whales have unique tail markings,” said Kristin Rasmussen at the Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington. During the Antarctic summer, the team made similar observations and looked for whales which had been spotted in the tropical waters. Seven animals were photographed in both locations and a mother and calf pair were seen in Antarctic waters 161 days after they had been spotted off Costa Rica, having travelled 5,266 miles. The study is reported in the journal Biology Letters.
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