Humpback whale recorded traveling 15,100 km between Brazil and Australia

A humpback whale photographed in the Abrolhos Bank, Brazil, in 2003 was identified in Hervey Bay, Australia, in September 2025. This represents a documented distance of 15,100 kilometers between sightings, the largest ever recorded for a single individual of the species.

A study published in Royal Society Open Science utilized tail fluke pattern recognition and international databases like Happywhale to identify the animal. Researchers also linked another whale seen in Australia in 2007 and 2013 to a sighting in Ilhabela, Brazil, in 2019, covering approximately 14,200 kilometers.

These rare movements, involving only 0.01% of identified whales, suggest potential two-way exchanges between breeding grounds in eastern Australia and Latin America. Scientists believe such migrations may facilitate genetic diversity and the circulation of whale songs across oceans.

In a separate recent event, more than 20 humpback whales, including calves, were observed near Ilhabela, São Paulo. The mass sighting occurred as the migratory season nears its end, with the whales observed traveling south, suggesting they may have completed their reproductive journey in northern waters.