Humpback whales off Australia approach adult size by age seven

Humpback whales off Australia’s east coast reach nearly adult size in their first years of life. By age five, they are about 10.9 metres long, and by age six or seven they reach 90% of an adult’s length. These are the findings of a Griffith University-led study published in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

Scientists measured 865 whales that they were able to identify individually from photographs. From 2021 to 2024, the researchers used photogrammetry to estimate the animals’ size from images taken by drones. The sample included calves, young and adult whales, including animals over 40 years old.

According to the study, whales grow fastest at a young age, and their growth gradually slows as they approach their maximum size. The resulting growth curves are the first contemporary ones for the eastern Australian population based on measurements of live animals. Previously, knowledge of whale growth relied largely on measurements from the commercial whaling era in the mid-20th century.

Image: Pleiadesjump CC BY-SA 4.0 · License

Translation editor: Ловушкин А.