SC/69A/CMP/25  

Document Number

SC/69A/CMP/25

Full Title

First documented records of Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) of the Chile-Peru Population: first observations in Ecuador and north of Peru

Author

Cristina Castro, Ana M. García-Cegarra, Piero Uceda-Vega, Luis Aguilar, Shaleyla Kelez, Susannah J. Buchan, Koen Van, Waerebeek

Authors Summary

The northernmost record of the Southern right whale SRW (Eubalaena australis) of the Chile-Peru population on the Southeast Pacific coast was sighted on 11 September 2022 (see SC/69A/CMP/xx). A mother-calf pair was recorded off the coast east of Salango Island (01°35’48” S, 80°52’15” W) in the marine area of Machalilla National Park, Ecuador. On August 8th, 2022, a mother-calf pair SRW was observed off El Ñuro (-4.20842, -81.1888), Peru. A third mother-calf pair was observed from the 15th to the 18th of August in the Antofagasta Region (-23.4842, -70.4704), Northern Chile. And the last sighting on August 17th, 2022, the same mother-calf pair was observed in Pisagua (-19.58001, -70.2111), Iquique Region in the North part of Chile; these individuals traveled 570 km in 13 days, an estimated 43.8 km per day. Aerial photo data were collected using the drone to identify their head callosities in the Peru and Chile sightings. We confirm that Antofagasta is an important nursery area for conserving this species. The data show mother-calf body size and evidence of animal stress-related behaviors with possible low-frequency calls in the presence of humans.

Publisher

IWC

Keywords

Publication Year

2023

Abstract

This report presents the northernmost record of the Southern right whale SRW (Eubalaena australis) of the Chile-Peru population on the Southeast Pacific coast. On 11 September 2022, a mother-calf pair SRW (Eubalaena australis) was recorded off the coast east of Salango Island (01°35’48” S, 80°52’15” W) in the marine area of Machalilla National Park, Ecuador. On August 8th, 2022,  a mother-calf pair SRW was observed off El Ñuro (-4.20842, -81.1888), Peru. A third mother-calf pair was observed from the 15th to the 18th of August in the Antofagasta Region (-23.4842, -70.4704), Northern Chile. And the last sighting on August 17th, 2022, the same mother-calf pair was observed in Pisagua (-19.58001, -70.2111), Iquique Region in the North part of Chile; these individuals traveled 570 km in 13 days, an estimated 43.8 km per day. Aerial photo data were collected using the drone to identify their head callosities in the Peru and Chile sightings. We confirm that Antofagasta is an important nursery area for conserving this species. Our data show mother-calf body size and evidence of animal stress-related behaviors with possible low-frequency calls in the presence of humans.