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SC/69A/CMP/25
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Resource ID
19980
Access
Open
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
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.