Whale migration patterns the world over demonstrate how truly complex whale life in our biosphere really is. The most penetrating question that continues to beguile marine biologists and those who specialize in whale species groups is why do these warm-blooded, complex and diverse mammal life forms migrate as they do in seasonal patterns?
It really doesn’t seem to be a matter of specificity when it comes to any particular species of whale and whether or not it migrates but rather, where in the world’s oceans does each particular species migrate? Some species have used ancient migration patterns in the northern hemisphere while others migrate exclusively throughout the southern hemisphere, for example.
It is also the case that a whale may spend much of the year in one part of the world ocean but undertake an extremely long migratory process to end up in another part of the world ocean, sometimes thousands of miles away. Usually, such migrations are interconnected with breeding and mating patterns deeply ingrained within each species.
Take the blue whale for example. Most of the species is migratory, and will spend the summer months in cooler latitudes in the high northern areas feeding extensively. The winter months become a time of breeding and then giving birth in warmer, tropical waters in the lower latitudes. There are reasons why this occurs, of course, but why did they begin to undertake these migrations in the ancient past?
Usually, the answer is that they evolved to take advantage of the more welcoming climates of the lower latitudes which would enable the species to not only mate congenially but also give birth to a calf that would have the luxury of learning from its mother before making a migration to the North in order to begin learning how to feed extensively.
Whatever the reasons for migration, it is a thing of natural wonder and beauty to see these magnificent mammals make their stately way throughout the world’s oceans and waters in a pattern that reaches back into a past we cannot even begin to understand. These animals are supremely intelligent and operate on a level of intellect we might not ever be able to decipher.