Background
The island of South Georgia, previously home to only a few sightings, has now seen in a new survey, 58 of the blue whale animals bringing hope to scientists around the world.
South Georgia is infamous for its whaling industry; steamboats with grenade-tipped harpoons, kill up to 3,000 blue whales annually, destroying the animal’s population. Commonly, animals like the fur and elephant seals, which were also heavily fished, managed to return to high population levels. However, the same is not seen in the whale population. Susannah Calderan, a leader of the survey reassing the island says what was happening to the blue whale population “was held up as an example of how you can exploit a population beyond the point where it can recover.” The low numbers of these creatures led people to wonder if they would be seen again in the water of South Georgia.
Populations Rise
The island of South Georgia is known for its high productivity rates: the abundance of Antarctic krill was once a feeding ground to the population of blue whales. But, the “cultural memory,” the knowledge of the immense food source passed on from mothers to calves, began to disappear. As mother whales started rapidly disappearing, the calves could not locate the same feeding grounds again.
Now, experts are seeing the return of blue whales to the Antarctic with the rediscovery of specific feeding areas. The increase of humpback whales in South Georgia has also been apparent before the resurgence of blue whales: both these animal populations were pushed towards extinction through the exploitation of the whaling industry.
Iceberg Hits
A68a, a 4,200 sq km block is known as the world’s biggest iceberg. Whale scientists closely watch the ice drift towards South Georgia. The island is home to dead icebergs that drift there to die. But, this one is enormous. It is set to disrupt the krill population, something that many animals in South Georgia rely on for food. Calderan asks, “Will it affect productivity? Will it affect the krill? Will that affect the whales?”.
Conclusion
The reemergence of whales back to South Georgia after years of absence brings hope to scientists. They contemplate the effects of the new population growth and anticipate what the results will show. How will smaller populations of creatures be affected by the whale population returning? How will South Georgia’s productivity change? People globally are excited to see a once disappeared species return to its home.
Can You Believe How Big They Are???
How beautiful!
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