A research team has discovered that male humpback whales can swim thousands of kilometers between Mexico and Hawaii to seize mating opportunities with females.
Humpback whales feeding off the coast of the U.S. (Photo: Elliott Hazen).
Scientists analyzed a database of over 4,500 photos of whales in the wild to track their movements. They found that some individuals swam thousands of meters during the mating season. Notably, two identifiable male whales, recognized by the markings on their tails, appeared at two familiar mating locations within less than two months of each other. The first sighting was off the western coast of Mexico, and the second near Hawaii, with the distance between the two locations reaching nearly 6,000 kilometers.
This timeline indicates that the whales swam faster than the usual speed of 4 km/h to reach these locations. “Our first reaction was disbelief,” shared James Darling, a researcher at Whale Trust Maui in Hawaii and co-author of the study. “They move across the ocean as if they are at home.” Darling and his colleagues published their findings in the journal *Biology Letters* on February 16.
Humpback whales in the North Pacific typically spend the summer around Canada and Alaska before migrating to breeding grounds near Mexico and Hawaii in the winter. They do not mate for life, and females often seek new partners each mating season.
Previously, researchers believed humpback whales would choose a single breeding location. However, thanks to the distinctive markings on the tails, Darling and his team observed one male whale swimming 4,545 kilometers from Maui, Hawaii, to the Revillagigedo Islands in Mexico between February 23 and April 17, 2006.
The second male whale swam the opposite route from Guerrero, Mexico, to Maui during the period between February 16 and May 4, 2018, covering a distance of 5,944 kilometers. It was one of seven male whales pursuing a female whale in that area. However, Darling emphasized that there is no evidence to confirm that females exhibit similar behavior.
