Feb.
13, 2013 — Scientists from Stanford University, the Wildlife Conservation
Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and other organizations are
closing in on the answer to an important conservation question: how many
humpback whales once existed in the North Atlantic?
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| Photo: Salvatore Cerchio/Wildlife Conservation Society. |
Building
on previous genetic analyses to estimate the pre-whaling population of North
Atlantic humpback whales, the research team has found that humpbacks used to
exist in numbers of more than 100,000 individuals. The new, more accurate
estimate is lower than previously calculated but still two to three times
higher than pre-whaling estimates based on catch data from whaling records.
Known
for its distinctively long pectoral fins, acrobatics, and haunting songs, the
humpback whale occurs in all the world's oceans. Current estimates for humpback
whale numbers are widely debated, but some have called for the level of their
international protection to be dropped.
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