Humpback whales recorded traveling record distances between Southern Hemisphere breeding grounds
Two humpback whales have been documented traveling unprecedented distances between breeding grounds in Australia and Brazil, separated by roughly 14,200 and 15,100 kilometers respectively. The findings, published in Royal Society Open Science, were made possible through photo-identification of unique tail markings across thousands of images collected over decades. The discovery supports the Southern Ocean Exchange hypothesis and suggests climate change may increase such rare crossings in the future.
Researchers have identified two humpback whales that traveled exceptionally long distances across the Southern Ocean between separate breeding grounds—one whale sighted in Queensland, Australia in 2007 and 2013, then near São Paulo, Brazil in 2019; the other observed off Bahia, Brazil in 2003 and Hervey Bay, Queensland in 2025. The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, used photo-identification techniques based on unique fluke markings to track individual whales across decades. Of thousands of identified whales studied, only 0.01% completed such journeys, suggesting these are rare, possibly single-lifetime events. The findings support the Southern Ocean Exchange hypothesis, which proposes that humpbacks can meet on shared Antarctic feeding grounds and then follow different routes to breeding areas. Researchers note that climate-driven changes to the Southern Ocean, including shifts in sea ice and Antarctic krill distribution, may make such crossings more common over time, and that occasional individuals moving between distant populations help maintain genetic diversity and may introduce new songs to different pods.
Limitations & open questions
The study acknowledges that recorded distances reflect separation between sighting locations rather than actual distances traveled, as photo-identification only captures endpoints of journeys. The researchers note uncertainty about how common such exchanges truly are and call for continued global collaboration on photo-ID platforms to better understand the phenomenon's frequency.
What different sources said
- Deutsche WelleCenter
Researchers spot humpback whales off Australia and Brazil — longest lifetime journey on record
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