Blue Whales returning to Spain after 40 years, reasons still unknown: Reports

Blue Whales are now returning to Spain’s Atlantic coast after an absence of over four decades. As per a report by The Guardian report, one of world’s largest mammals were spotted off the coast of Galicia in northwest Spain in 2017 by Bruno Díaz, a marine biologist. Diaz is head of the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute in O Grove, Galicia. Another Blue Whale was spotted in 2018, in 2019, and then in 2020, as per the report, both of them returned. Near O Grove, another specimen was reportedly spotted off the Islas Cies indicating Blue Whales’ return to the region after 40 years. 

Diaz reportedly said that it was not clear if the climate crisis was causing the creatures to relocate and return to the area where they were hunted to extinction. The media outlet even quoted the expert saying that he believes the moratorium on whaling has been a key factor. In the 1970s, an entire generation of blue whales disappeared before the ban was introduced. It is now more than 40 years later that the the return of the descendants of the few that survived is being witnessed by the world. 

‘Not something to celebrate’

Alfredo López, Another marine biologist working at a Galician NGO that studies marine mammals, told the newspaper La Voz de Galicia that he is pessimistic because there’s a high possibility that climate change is having a major impact on the blue whale’s habitat. They never venture south of the equator, and if global warming pushes this line north, their habitat will be reduced. This could also mean that their food is gradually disappearing. Therefore this can also be seen as alarm bells and not a celebratory thing.

Diaz has reportedly also speculated that the return of the creatures to Galicia might also be due to homesickness or the memory of ancestors. He was quoted by The Guardian as saying, “In recent years it’s been discovered that the blue whale’s migration is driven by memory, not by environmental conditions...This year there hasn’t been a notable increase in plankton, but here they are. Experiences are retained in the collective memory and drive the species to return.”

IMAGE: AP