Once a legend, humpback whales make a comeback in Brazil
Female humpback whales off the coast of Brazil now have their pick of mates, who slap the water with their tails and jostle for attention—a scene that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.
Once a legend, humpback whales are making a remarkable comeback off the coast of Brazil, according to recent reports. In the 1980s, the species was driven to near extinction, with only a handful of individuals remaining. However, thanks to a worldwide ban on commercial whaling and strict protections put in place by Brazil, the population has now swelled to an estimated 35,000 individuals, representing almost half of the global total.
The warm waters off the coast of Brazil serve as the largest breeding ground for South Atlantic humpback whales. Here, males compete for the chance to mate with females, who give birth and nurse their calves. These coastal waters are also a hotspot for scientists, who flock to the Abrolhos archipelago each year to study and record the cetaceans. In fact, just four decades ago, the presence of humpback whales in Brazil was a complete mystery to many.
Dr. Enrico Marcovaldi, founder of the Humpback Whale Institute in Brazil, recalls his first encounter with the whales, mistaking them for rocks. He explained, "They were legends. We had never seen one." This changed when Brazil banned whaling in 1986 and declared the Abrolhos breeding grounds a protected area in 1993. The humpback whale was subsequently removed from Brazil's list of threatened species in 2014, and its population has continued to thrive ever since.
Biologists like Fabio Fontes employ innovative methods to study these majestic creatures. Armed with a life jacket, helmet, and crossbow, Fontes fires an arrow at a male whale as it competes for a mate. The arrow pierces the whale's skin, allowing researchers to collect vital samples for genetic analysis. These samples help establish family ties between whales, with one notable discovery revealing that a humpback born in the Abrolhos breeding grounds is related to another spotted off South Georgia, a remote island 4,000 kilometers away.
Humpback whales are known for their extensive migrations, and genetic sampling has helped uncover their wide-ranging patterns. A unique pattern of white markings against the black of a whale's tail serves as its fingerprint, allowing researchers to identify individual animals from photographs. The Happy Whale AI platform has further streamlined this process, identifying 8,300 Brazilian humpbacks in seconds.
While humpback whale populations have shown a significant recovery, they still face threats from maritime traffic, fishing nets, and warming seas due to climate change, which impacts their primary food source, krill. The IBJ, a leading research organization, has received financial support from Brazil's state oil company Petrobras for three decades, contributing to the recovery of multiple species in the country.
In October, the Abrolhos archipelago was recognized as a "Hope Spot" by Mission Blue, founded by oceanographer Sylvia Earle, highlighting its rich biodiversity and significance to marine conservation.
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