Watch first-ever footage of the elusive Omura鈥檚 whale
An international team of researchers has published the first-ever video captured of an Omura鈥檚 whale, one of the rarest species of whales in the world.
The footage, made public , was released a week after the scientists detailing the whales鈥� behavior and habitat preferences in the shallow waters off Madagascar. The study marks the first definitive field observations of Omura鈥檚 whales since the species was identified in 2003.
鈥淲hat little we knew about these whales previously came primarily from eight specimens of Omura's whales taken in Japanese scientific whaling off the Solomon and Keeling Islands and a couple strandings of dead animals in Japan,鈥� said lead author Salvatore Cerchio, a visiting scientist at NEAQ and guest investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, . 鈥淭his is the first definitive evidence and detailed descriptions of Omura's whales in the wild and part of what makes this work particularly exciting.鈥�
The marine mammals were long misidentified as Bryde鈥檚 whales, another species of small, tropical baleen whales with similar dorsal fins 鈥� though Omura's whales are slightly smaller and have unique markings on their lower jaws. Indeed, it wasn鈥檛 until 2003 that scientists, using genetic data from samples gathered from old whaling expeditions, identified Omura鈥檚 whales as a separate species.
When Dr. Cerchio and his team first spotted an Omura鈥檚 whale in 2011, they also thought it was a Bryde鈥檚 whale. 鈥淔rom the little information [we had] on their habitat and range, Omura's whales were not supposed to be in that part of the Indian Ocean,鈥� Cerchio said.
In 2013, the team moved its area of study into deeper waters. They quickly logged 13 more sightings, and noted the distinct markings 鈥� dark and light pigmentation on the animal鈥檚 head 鈥� that convinced them the whales were Omura鈥檚.
In total, the researchers observed 44 groups of whales and collected skin biopsies from 18 adult specimens. They sent the samples to coauthor Alec Lindsay at Northern Michigan University, who performed the DNA test that confirmed the whales' species in 2014. They also saw four mothers with young calves, and recorded vocalizations that may suggest reproductive behavior.
The team鈥檚 observations provide previously lacking information about the elusive species. Cerchio described them as 鈥渟pectacular animals with long, narrow bodies鈥� that, unlike humpback whales and other breeds of the marine mammals, prefer to socialize in loose groupings.
鈥淸I]f you explore the area, you would find another one several hundred meters away,鈥� he told the network.
Cerchio will return to the field in November to do further study on the whales' vocalizations and behavior, and provide an estimate of the species鈥� population.
