Antarctic Humpback whales

More Baby Humpback Whales Will Soon Be Swimming in Antarctic Seas

Good news from the sea and ocean.

A lot of baby humpback whales may be on their way, if recent years are any indication.

Fascinating Humpback whales

An incredibly but unusual high number of female humpbacks living in the Southern Ocean around the Western Antarctic Peninsula have gotten pregnant in the past years, according to a study published last May 2 in the journal Royal Society Open Science. 

Researchers are much hopeful their population will rise up after the years of devastating commercial whaling that nearly wiped them out in the area since the past century.

Humpback whales

Humpback whales usually give birth every couple of years and have pregnancies that last for around 11 months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Once the baby is born, the mother is very "protective" and "affectionate" toward its young, according to NOAA.

Pregnant or not, humpback whales were easy targets for whalers because of their abundance in bays and their tendency to float when killed and sold for profit. 

Swimming around the Antarctic sea.

With treaties put in place in the late 20th century, whaling was stopped, and populations slowly began to recover. Now, humpback whales in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica are no longer on the list of the endangered species according to The New York Times.

The researchers collected skin and blubber samples between 2010 and 2016 from 268 unsuspecting females. They tested the samples for progesterone — a hormone that regulates the reproductive system and pregnancy in most mammals, including humans. If the progesterone levels matched those found previously in pregnant female humpbacks, the researchers could indicate if these giants were "expecting."

Baby humpback with mom.

They found that pregnancy rates varied greatly from year to year, from 36 percent in 2010 to 86 percent in 2014. 

Hopefully, their numbers will increase in the upcoming years amidst the dangers humans can inflict on them.

“The whales do not sing because they have an answer, they sing because they have a song.”

- Gregory Colbert