Whale Travels 8,000 Miles for Love, Stunning Scientists

A new study tracking the movements of an adult humpback whale has left scientists stunned. 

The research, published Dec. 11 in the Royal Society Open Science journal found that one humpback whale has set a new record for the longest known migration between breeding grounds. To search for a mate, the male traversed three oceans and more than 8,000 miles, first being spotted off the coast of Colombia in the Pacific and eventually moving across the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean off the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The dedicated journey wasn't done in search of the perfect partner, however. Scientists believe the extreme globe-trotting could be linked to climate change, which has been changing ocean temperatures and depleting its natural food supply of krill. It could also possibly signal a change in migration patterns that experts have yet to decipher. 

"The long-distance movement presented here appears to be atypical and raises the question as to what its drivers are, which could include but not necessarily be limited to mating strategies. Other reasons behind this unusual new habitat exploration may be global climatic changes and altered environmental conditions and events," the team wrote in the study. 

"On the other hand, population increases may also be a driver of these breeding ground shifts, when animals may need to explore new breeding and/or feeding areas due to competition from larger, more established males in both areas," the team continued. "The exact cause or drivers of these breeding habitat shifts can only be speculated due to the current limited data availability on humpback whale behavioral ecology."

The scientists were able to compile the findings using submissions from citizen science website Happy Whale where researchers, whale watchers, and other members of the public snap photos and track the movement of whales around the world. The site uses AI to analyze the photos and identify whales based on the shapes and patterns on their tails. 

Related: Video: 3 Humpback Whales Perform Synchronized Jump Off Cape Cod

More research needs to be done into possible causes of this lengthy journey, especially if scientists begin to see a similar pattern among other whales as time goes on.

"To get more insights into the migration ecology of the species that move on an ocean-wide or even possibly global scale, transboundary research effort and sustained collaborative long-term monitoring are needed," the team concluded. "Understanding how frequently these breeding area shifts occur would help to assess the magnitude of population-level effects. Further studies investigating global genetic structure and photo-ID, regionally and globally, will help to better explain and understand this phenomenon."

If you see a whale in the wild, take a moment to think just how much it might have traveled to get there.