What is the longest distance a marine animal travels? How are these spectacular journeys measured and what do they mean for each species and its habitat? These are the questions that arise from a remarkable record about this very special humpback whale. It is the whale that traveled 13,000 kilometers from one point on Earth to another.
Distance between two points
This was recorded by a team of scientists. They confirmed the record set by a humpback whale (‘Megaptera novaeangliae’). This managed to cover the distance of more than 13,000 kilometers from Colombia to Tanzania. This is what a publication in the British scientific journal ‘Royal Society’ states.
«The observation points [de la ballena] in Colombia, in 2013, and in [la isla de] Zanzibar, in 2022, are separated by 13,046 kilometers on the great circle line and 120 degrees in longitude. It is the greatest distance recorded in all of history. We are talking about observations between observation points located in two breeding sites of a male humpback whale. This is identified by a photograph,” indicates the study.
The great circle line is the shortest distance between two points on the Earth’s surface. The term is used in cartography and navigation. Additionally, this is the first documented case of this type of displacement of a humpback whale. It went from a breeding site in the Pacific to another located in the Indian Ocean.
crossing lines
Humpback whales are famous for long-distance migrations, of more than 8,000 kilometers. But they usually do it along a line of latitude. Transfers by lines of longitude are not characteristic for them.
Therefore, the route traveled from western Colombia to eastern Tanzania surprised scientists. This means moving more than once along lines of longitude. The whale that traveled 13,000 kilometers made this long journey in nine years.
