Back in the 1960s, only a few hundred humpback whales survived in the wild.

That’s because they were relentlessly hunted, with commercial whaling killing the giant creatures for their blubber, oil, and meat.

Thankfully, commercial whaling was banned in 1986, with rigorous protective protocols now in place and allowing the humpback whale population to restore to around 50,000 individuals swimming through our oceans.

However, some threats still remain to these gentle giants – and new data surrounding the migrations of their calves shows just how adaptive our protective measures need to be, if these creatures are to remain protected.

Previously, it was assumed that Southern Hemisphere humpback whale calves were born after the whales’ northern migration, in the shallow, warmer waters around the coasts and reefs of Australia.

This is in part to protect the calves, since the warmer waters allow them to have a more comfortable start to life, while the shallower waters help the newborn whales, who do not start off as particularly good swimmers.

Incidentally, this is great for Australia’s tourism, since whale-watching tours generate plenty of revenue whilst research scientists on board gather data from each whale spotted in the wild – all while observing the permitted whale watching distances of 100m from whales and 300m from mother whales and their calves.

And it was through her role as a skipper on one of these vessels that Jane McPhee-Frew, a researcher from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, spotted something truly fascinating, that shook up what we know about whale calves and the protective protocols around them.

That’s because McPhee-Frew noticed a humpback whale calf much further south than expected, leading to her data collection of calf sightings throughout Oceanic waters, as she explained in a statement:

“Historically, we believed that humpback whales migrating north from the nutrient-rich Southern Ocean were travelling to warmer, tropical waters such as the Great Barrier Reef to calve. But I was working part-time as a skipper on a whale-watching boat in Newcastle when I first spotted a calf in the area. It seemed out of place. The calf was tiny, obviously brand new. What were they doing here? But none of my tourism colleagues seemed surprised. This sparked a conversation with my research colleagues, and we realised there was a gap between the scientific literature and the sightings.”

Ultimately, the project led to the collation of 200 calf sightings reaching from Queensland to Tasmania and the South Island of New Zealand – after which point data ran out, since there was no more dry land or research vessels to spot them from.

This updated data – which was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science – suggests that the migratory and breeding patterns of humpback whales are very different to previously understood, with previous assumptions based on limited data. Now that more humpback whales exist in the wild, and more whale watching tours and scientists are observing them, their natural behaviors are able to challenge our earlier beliefs.

However, this presents challenges in itself, with the conservation of these creatures now much more complicated.

That’s because the new knowledge means that newborn humpback whale calves are present in shipping lanes, rather than just in carefully monitored reefs, exposing them to all sorts of dangers, as McPhee-Frew continued:

“The pattern we’re seeing is mother whales with calves travelling through some of the busiest shipping lanes and urbanised regions. This means these vulnerable animals are exposed to risks like boat strikes, entanglements, pollution – and just general public unawareness. Regardless of the health of population now, we can’t be in a situation where we’re putting any age of whales – especially baby whales – in a situation where they’re getting caught in nets, being exposed to chemicals, being hit by boats and being harassed.”

As a result, McPhee-Frew recommends governmental intervention to protect the calves as they migrate long distances north with their mothers, as well as greater education and awareness campaigns for the general public.

The population might have increased considerably, the study warns, but unless humpback whale calves are protected, this vital conservation effort could be at risk.

Thought that was fascinating? Here’s another story you might like: Why You’ll Never See A Great White Shark In An Aquarium