Since the 1990s, a sophisticated global monitoring system, originally designed to detect explosions of nuclear bombs unauthorized, found a surprising application.
The technological apparatus played a crucial role in identifying a new population of blue whales in danger of extinction in the Indian Ocean, thanks to the distinctive song of these majestic cetaceans.
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The discovery vividly reveals how innovations can transcend their original purposes.
Through a system designed to prevent nuclear conflicts, knowledge emerged of a new grouping of the subspecies known as the pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda).
The animals found, which are part of the blue whale family, are among the largest living beings on our planet, with an imposing weight of 90 tons and a length that reaches 24 meters.
(Image: Reproduction/Pixabay)
Through hydroacoustic stations, scientists have closely monitored the behavior of this extremely rare group of whales, notable for their aforementioned peculiar song, which serves as a kind of sound signature capable of differentiating them from others.
The research revealed that these unique mammals carried out migrations in the Indian Ocean, on a journey that ranged from the east to the central-west, passing through the Chagos Archipelago.
They later moved towards the north of Western Australia and, according to the most recent analyses, were in close proximity to Sri Lanka.
The findings, documented in a study published in the journal Nature, led researchers to identify at least five distinct populations of blue whales in the Indian Ocean.
One of these populations is composed of the species Balaenoptera musculus intermedia, also known as the Antarctic blue whale, while the other four belong to the pygmy blue whale subspecies.
The rarity of these blue whales is largely attributed to relentless human hunting. During the 1920s, it was estimated that there were around 239 thousand specimens of these majestic cetaceans.
However, due to intense exploration, this number dropped drastically, reaching less than 500 individuals in 1973. Now, populations are in the process of recovering, even after years of violent hunting.
Such renewal is a testament to the resilience of marine life, but for this progress to continue, it is crucial that fishing for these whales remains banned internationally, a measure that has not been followed everywhere, as is the case with Japan.
The preservation of such stunning species depends on our ongoing commitment to ocean protection and conservation.
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