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Migrating Humpback Whales swim in straight lines up to 2,000 km long

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That kind of accuracy is pretty important for these globetrotting animals that swim thousands of kilometers every year to migrate. Researchers found out the secret of Humpback whale migration after following 16 of them on their epic journey. These impressive navigation skills have researchers thinking that Humpback whales use the sun as well as the magnetic field to keep them swimming straight.

humpback whale jumping

Horton, Travis, Richard N. Holdaway, Alexandre N. Zerbini, Nan Hauser, Claire Garrigue, Artur Andriolo and Philip J. Clapham. “Straight as an arrow: humpback whales swim constant course tracks during long-distance migrations” Biology Letters. 2011, 7(2).

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