Antarctica: a gathering of more than 1000 whales has been observed, a first for 100 years

A year ago, a gathering of more than 1,000 whales was observed near Antarctica. A first for more than a century.

In January 2022, approximately 1000 fin whales were observed by National Geographic Endurance passengers near the Antarctic . A rare sight that hadn't happened in a century, reports National Geographic.

Photo credit: istock

As the specialized magazine specifies, this gargantuan gathering brought together between 830 and 1153 fin whales, as well as whales blue whales and humpback whales. Marine mammals gathered to feed on a 'dense mass of krill' , off Coronation Island (north of the Antarctic Peninsula).

« As we sailed north of Coronation Island last year, we saw an absolutely incredible sight: the horizon was filled with whale spouts Zoologist and naturalist Conor Ryan told the news site in an email.

Before adding: Once we got closer, the sound of whale blowing was continuous. It surrounded us, much like the condensation of whale breath in the air, which required regular cleaning of our camera lenses and sunglasses. ».

Good news for the species

As we touched on above, such a gathering of baleen whales could be “ Most important “Since the ban on whaling at the end of the 20th century, specifies National Geographic.

« A little over 100 years ago, it would probably not have been so exceptional to observe such a phenomenon. “, indicates for his part Matthew Saccova, marine ecologist at Stanford and co-author of a new study on the event.

Photo credit: istock

Unsurprisingly, this phenomenon is good news for the species, especially in the Southern Ocean: “ It's great to see that fin whales are back, and more and more people can attest to that. said Helena Herr, a marine mammal ecologist at the Center for Natural History at the University of Hamburg (Germany).

However, fin whales remain at risk from ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.