A team of scientists wanted to see how far a series of gray whales usually swim during their migration; in order to determine this, the researchers tagged the whales and waited to see what happens.
What they found amazed everyone. The information is extremely important for the study of mammals, providing new insight into their migration patterns.
According to what the researchers discovered, the gray whale swam exactly 13,987 miles, from Russia to Mexico, without stopping.
This gray whale has broken a new record in the world of mammals and amazed the world of science by swimming so long a distance without even stopping once for eating.
The researchers believe that the gray whale traveled for approximately five and a half months to swim for such a long distance.
According to the experts, it is not a particularly long period considering the distance that the whale covered. But what’s really impressive is the fact that the whale, during its long journey, did not stop, pause or restart the travel at any point, meaning that it swam continuously for almost 6 months.
The whale just started swimming and never stopped until it reached the destination.
By doing this, the gray whale broke the record as the most advanced migrating animal in the world.
Bruce Mate, a researcher at the Oregon State University and one of the scientists involved in the study, explained that the gray whales have the same body temperature as humans, so they need to migrate in order to reach warmer or colder waters.
However, Mate adds, this is actually a new record, because not only the journey is impressive, but also how the whale managed to do it.
The fact that the gray whale chose to take different routes only points out the fact that these mammals are expert navigators.
The science world is amazed by what the gray whale managed to achieve, traveling such a long distance in such a short period of time, without ever stopping.
The researchers will have to study the whales and find out what makes them change their course or take different routes when they are migrating.
Image Source: themarketbusiness
