The elusive Omura's whale was caught on video in 2015 for the first time. Now, scientists found the largest population of this rare whale species in Madagascar.
A research team was led by New England Aquarium's Dr. Salvatore Cerchio. The scientists documented around 80 Omura's whales off the coast in Madagascar last November.
To date, the November report alone doubled the entire number of Omura's Whale sightings in its whole research history. This population included five pairs of mothers and calves.
The Madagascar population also recorded some Omura's whales that were seen for the first time. This suggested the possibility of a larger population residing near the island nation.
When Cerchio and his team posted the first video footage of the rare 38-foot tropical whales, the discovery made global headlines in early November.
When the team returned to Madagascar, they discovered exceptional numbers of euphasiids (tiny shrimps) in the waters of the same area. This suggested that there could be a large population of whales in the vicinity and they were right.
The November sighting enabled the research team to observe the Omura's whales' feeding behavior as well as that of the mother-calf pairs. They were also able to analyze the distinct but erratic marks and colors on the species' heads.
Cerchio mentioned two major highlights from his latest visit. First, they were able to see their first mother-calf pair. The mother gave the researchers a chance to take an underwater video of the feeding behavior.
"The mom was feeding at the surface, making several rolling lunges in which her pectoral fin and fluke came out of the water, while the calf meandered around nearby," wrote Cerchio on the New England Aquarium blog.
The second highlight was when they recognized a familiar whale which was observed during their earlier visit.
"Upon return to base that night, a check of photos verified that this was in fact a female that we first photographed in 2012 within an aggregation of four whales, and then in 2013 with a calf, and now in 2015 again without a calf," wrote Cerchio.
The two-week worth of acoustic data included condensed choruses of the whales' songs. This new data can lead to new information about these rare and elusive tropical whales.
For over 30 years, Cerchio has been studying free-range cetacean populations around the world. He is currently New England Aquarium's visiting scientist.
The team is hoping to return in May for further research. Cerchio's research was funded by the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission.
