Visitors Now: | |
Total Visits: | |
Total Stories: |
Story Views | |
Now: | |
Last Hour: | |
Last 24 Hours: | |
Total: |
WELLINGTON, May 20 (Xinhua) — The world’s largest animal, which was almost hunted to extinction in the 19th Century, appears to be making a comeback in waters off New Zealand, New Zealand scientists revealed Monday.
The study of blue whales in the South Taranaki Bight, off the west of the North Island, showed that the creatures were passing through in numbers greater than expected, according to researchers with the government’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
The blue whales had found an important food source there on their way to and from summer feeding grounds in Antarctica.
The study examined sightings of blue whales collected between 1979 and 1999, historical whaling data, strandings, foraging observations, and sightings recorded during two seismic surveys conducted in 2011.
It linked the increased presence of blue whales to a specific ocean movement that generated large clouds of plankton in the South Taranaki Bight.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/202936/8251223.html