Israeli Researcher Sees Longest-Ever Journey Of Sperm Whale In Med

An international team of scientists led by a University of Haifa researcher has documented the longest journey of a sperm whale to date, as it traveled some 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) through the Mediterranean Sea. 

The scientists say that to their knowledge, it is the first-ever documented case of a long-range eastward movement by an immature male sperm whale, which traveled from the Ligurian Sea to the easternmost area of the Levantine Basin.

The sea is approximately 4,000 km (2,500 miles) long from west to east. 

Dr. Aviad Scheinin of the university’s Morris Kahn Marine Research Station worked with Kirsten F. Thompson from the University of Exeter and Greenpeace Research Laboratories and Jonathan Gordon of the University of St. Andrews. 

The objective of the study was to use passive acoustic monitoring and a non-systematic visual survey to generate data on the presence and ecology of cetaceans – a group of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises – within Israel’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The team carried out two passive acoustic surveys in April and May 2022, onboard a Greenpeace sailing vessel, and detected some eight sperm whales. 

One of the whales was deemed to be an immature male based on size and characteristic head shape, and the team discovered that it has been previously spotted 12 other times, with the greatest distance between sightings being 2,800 kilometers. 

“The gap of knowledge of marine life in offshore waters in the Mediterranean is tremendous,” said Scheinin. 

“Spotting these sperm whales is important to our knowledge about biodiversity because if a whale is willing to travel such great distances at considerable risk, then it means it must have found a diverse and lush source of food. Being apex predators of the deep sea makes them important bioindicators.”