Humpback whales come to the Mediterranean to feed themselves

Experts predict that sightings of this species could increase in the Mediterranean in the coming years

Date:  November 15, 2018

Source:  University of Seville

Although the presence of humpback whales in the Mediterranean has been considered unusual, it is known that their visits have increased in the last 150 years. Until now, there had been no clear reason to justify this fact, with various options being considered, such as disorientation, following the migratory routes of other species, etc. However, a recently published study by experts from the University of Seville and from the Biological Research Area from the Seville Aquarium indicates that what motivates these cetacean mammals to enter these waters is the search for food.

This species travels long migration routes from the poles (both North and South), where the feeding areas are found, to the Equator to reproduced in the 15 DPS reproduction areas detected by the scientific community until now.

"In spring of 2016, a single young humpback whale was detected alongside a boat used from sighting cetacean mammals in the area. For almost a month, it was possible to follow the animal within the bay of Algeciras, taking exhaustive data, accompanied by photographs for photo-identification and future tracking of the animal, as well as for checking that the animal did not have any kind of problem," informs José Carlos García-Gómez, direct of the Marine Biology Laboratory at the University of Seville.

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