The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) South Africa and the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit are partnering to support research on southern right whales, which are facing a variety of new threats.
The Whale Unit, which falls under UP’s Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, has been monitoring southern right whale populations since 1969. Up until about a decade ago, southern right whales had made a remarkable recovery from commercial whaling. But now, warming oceans and consequent changes to ocean processes appear to be having a negative impact on the available food supply. This is having a noticeable effect on the number of whales visiting South African shores.
In partnering with UP’s Whale Unit, WWF South Africa hopes to enable the facility to continue its vital research into the well-being of these iconic whales, which are at the heart of South Africa’s coastal tourism industry, generating both direct and indirect income for the country.
“Since commercial whaling stopped, the recovery of the southern right whale population was a great conservation success story,” said Dr Els Vermeulen, research manager at the Whale Unit. “But now, the science is telling us that these marine mammals are coming under renewed pressure from a more modern problem likely linked to climate change. Over the past decade, we have been finding that the whales are getting thinner, are calving less often and are leaving their breeding grounds earlier.”
A worrying trend is that whale mothers also appear to be leaving South African breeding areas earlier, which could be having a negative effect on the chances of calf survival. You can support the conservation of these whales by “adopting” a whale. For more information visit https://donate.wwf.org.za/adoption/adopta-whale