Just off the coast of North Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef is home to marine species, individual reefs, islands, and sand cays.
Every year, the majestic and beautiful humpback whale migrates from Antarctica to Australia. There are over 60,000 humpback whales that come from Antarctica to Australia every year. They feed in the cold waters for half of the year, before journeying towards the warmer waters of Australia to breed. Humpback whales are a well-studied species, so luckily, we know lots about them.
A sensitive animal with top-notch navigation
Whales are very sensitive creatures that are tuned into seasonal frequencies.
The fluctuations of the environment cause changes in their environment, which give cues to the whale. Whales have a sense of navigation like no other living organism. They are directed by magnetic fields, ocean currents and temperature changes.
Antarctica
From Antarctica, the whales thrive in a cold climate and feed on the enough of krill. The krill are aplenty in these waters because of the longer hours of sunlight. Feeding on this large quantity of krill allows them to build up their blubber storage and keep warm – whilst giving them the energy they need to migrate.
To the East Coast of Australia
The whole strip that the whales swim along is now called ‘humpback highway’. There is a fork in the road when it comes to Tasmania. Some 35000 whales go to Western Australia, while around 2500 of them travel up along the East Coast.
During the migration journey, you’ll be able to see whales making their way up to the Queensland waters from the coast! Their famous migration attracts thousands of tourists to the coast yearly.
Why do they migrate?
They go up to the warmer waters of Queensland because of the warmer waters. This allows them to give birth to their young. The baby whales and calves are virtually helpless when they are born. And they don’t have much blubber. So the warmer waters create a nice cosy blanket for them when they are born.
Back down to Antarctica
Then they go back down to Antarctica again where they can feed on more krill, and restore their depleted fat sources.
When do they migrate?
The timing of the whale migration is entirely dependent on a variety of different factors.
While the juveniles make their way up north pretty quickly due to their youthful agility. The pregnant mothers tend to take less time to swim up there. They can sometimes give birth during the journey.
They can live up to 50 years, so this journey happens quite a few times in their life!