Passengers aboard the National Geographic Endurance were lucky enough to witness the largest gathering of fin whales seen in a century. At the time, cetacean hunting had led to a collapse in fin whale populations.
During their voyage, passengers aboard the National Geographic cruise ship Endurance spotted a horizon full of whale spouts, north of Coronation Island. Accompanied by a few blue and humpback whales, between 830 and 1153 fin whales came to enjoy a large mass of krill off the island. These small, shrimp-like crustaceans are the cetaceans' main source of food in this area.
According to scientists at Stanford University, this is the largest gathering of baleen whales since the end of industrial fishing, when the fin whale population plummeted by almost 98%. Despite the threats still hanging over these cetaceans, scientists see a glimmer of hope for the recovery of rorqual whale populations.
