Blue whales are making their home in a part of the Indian Ocean where they were wiped out by hunting decades ago.
According to the BBC, researchers reached the finding in question by placing underwater microphones on the seafloor in Seychelles, an island country in the east of Africa.
Researchers examined the sounds made by blue whales by recording 15 minutes per hour every day with underwater microphones and recorders for a year.
While the findings show that blue whales stay in the region for months, researchers say that this development means that blue whales can breed in this region.
The sighting of blue whales in the Indian Ocean again, after their populations in the region were wiped out in the 1960s due to whaling, shows that they have made the region their home again.
The lead author of the study, Dr. “It turns out that if you stop killing animals on a mass scale and give them a chance to recover, they can recover,” Kate Stafford told the BBC. said.
Stafford said they wanted to find out where the largest animals that have ever existed on this planet had returned, and knowing that there was a population around the Seychelles was incredibly exciting.
Noting that Seychelles may be important for blue whales, Stafford said, “They sing during the breeding season, and based on what we know about other whales, we think that those who sing are probably males. Therefore, Seychelles has the potential to be a breeding area.” he said.
Stafford stated that the sounds made by blue whales last for 15 to 20 seconds at 188 decibels, which is equivalent to the sound made by a jet engine, and emphasized that this is the “loudest continuous sound” in the animal kingdom.
The research was published in the “Journal of Endangered Species Research”.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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