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Whales Live Much Longer Than We Thought, According To A New Study

By Erynn Ruiz

Whales Live Much Longer Than We Thought, According To A New Study

A new study suggests that whales actually live twice as long as research previously determined. The study, which was released December 20th, 2024 by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, reviewed past studies and data collected in those studies to determine a new estimate for whale age.

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New Study Suggests Right Whales Can Live To Be 130 (Or Older)

A recent study surveyed data to determine that right whales live much longer than was previously thought. The study, titled, "Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales," discusses right whales, which is the name given to three species of large baleen whales.

What are right whales?

"Right" whales were originally nicknamed due to being the "right" whales to hunt; the whales have large amounts of blubber and float when killed, per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Right whales are hunted for their baleen and blubber. However, the North Atlantic right whale is currently one of the most endangered large whale species, per NOAA Fisheries.

Atlantic Northern Right Whale mother and calf

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In past studies, researchers worked with Indigenous subsistence hunters to analyze harvested bowhead whales, a closely related species to right whales. Those studies suggest that bowhead whales could live for over 200 years.

Evidence for the whales' long lifespans includes both chemical analysis and incidents such as a harvested whale having a harpoon tip manufactured 100+ years prior embedded in its blubber.

Per Science Daily, the new study reviewed four decades' worth of data on the Southern right whale and North Atlantic right whale.

"Researchers used the data to construct survivorship curves -- graphs that show the proportion of a population that survives to each age -- similar to those used by insurance companies to calculate human life expectancies." -- Science Daily

The study ultimately suggests that Southern right whales have a life span exceeding 130 years, while the endangered North Atlantic right whale only surviving to an average of 22 years. Human impact is the primary reason for the endangered whales' limited lifespan, according to researchers.

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The study also mentions instances of whales documented to be older, such as one that was estimated to be 211 years old, but concedes that this might have been assumed to be a laboratory error. However, the technology used to examine whale tissue and estimate age appears to offer a reasonable estimate of whales' ages.

That, combined with the fact that whaling decimated the populations of many whales before conservation efforts began, could mean that researchers simply haven't found older whales because not enough time has passed, suggests Science Daily.

Three specific factors influence whale age estimates downward, per the study

Researchers in the new study suggest that whale ages have been estimated downward, leading humans to believe that whales simply can't be older than 100+ years. The study discussed challenges with counting annual growth layers in teeth and/or baleen, the fact that extremely old whales are not likely to be part of any study because of the impacts of whaling, and the fact that aging methods often requires the whale to be dead, but only recently so.

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Scientists have also recently discovered a specimen of the spade-toothed whale, one of the rarest in the world. Just days ago, NOAA officials attempted to rescue adult and juvenile North Atlantic right whales that were caught in a fishing net.

Sadly, NOAA reports a North Atlantic right whale Unusual Mortality Event, which means whales are dying in large numbers and researchers want to determine why and how to help. The most recent cases of whale sightings that were assumed to result in the whales' deaths included the two from December 17th, and two more on December 20th.

References: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Science Daily, NOAA Fisheries

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