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Southern right whales, hunted to the brink of extinction earlier this century, are making a comeback off the Argentine coast, according to a report published last week.
The global population of southern right whales, which measure up to 52 feet and weigh up to 70 tons, is around 7,000 compared to 100,000 at the start of the century, according to a survey released on Tuesday by Argentine biologists Alejandro Arias and Guillermo Harris.
"The southern right whale population is growing," Arias said, citing his survey conducted over the last four years. "It's increasing something in the order of 6.8 percent per year." said Arias,
"We are seeing a true revitalization," said Jose Truda Palazzo, whose Right Whale Project in Brazil has drawn plaudits and support from the country's government. "These whales are back and they are here to stay. In Argentina, Arias and Harris compared photos of 137 of the estimated 2,500 - 2,700 whales off the Argentine coast with the subpopulation of 3,000 around the tip of South Africa and the 1,500 between New Zealand and Australia. The survey identified the mammals by their unique array of calluses on their heads and around their blowholes. U.S. marine biologist Roger Payne, who is credited with discovering these markings, estimates Argentina's southern right whale population growth at 7.7 percent per year. According to Harris, the survey's goal was to record the whale's recovery and migratory patterns. Some scientists believe the South American and South African whales meet between Buenos Aires and Cape Town - around the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in middle of the South Atlantic - to mate. The number of whales around those islands was so high at one point that a whaling community was established on the archipelago. Because of this checkered past, Arias said he considers the recent population resurgence even more of a victory for conservation. "It is truly remarkable," he said.
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