Once Endangered Humpback Whales Enjoy Fast Rising Population Growth

The whaling industry led the population of South Atlantic humpback whales to drop to 450, facing near-extinction. But thanks to years of recovery efforts, a new study shows the whales have rebounded back to their pre-whaling population – of 25,000!

“We were surprised to learn that the population was recovering more quickly than past studies had suggested,” says John Best, co-author of the study alongside Grant Adams and André Punt, from the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences in the United States.

The study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, was achieved with the help of a new model built to provide scientists with a more detailed look at the recovery and population status, and can potentially be used for other species as well.

“We believe that transparency in science is important,” says Adams. “The software we wrote for this project is available to the public and anyone can reproduce our findings.”