Jan
27
New Hybrid Whale Discovered in Arctic
A cross between an Antarctic minke whale and a northern minke whale was recently discovered during a DNA analysis of whales caught by Norwegian hunters. Normally the two whale species—both of which can reach 35 feet (11 meters) in length—undertake seasonal migrations that separate them by many miles of ocean.
Still, the genes leave a lot of unanswered questions—Is the hybrid whale a fluke, or the beginning of a trend? No one knows, but Glover said that his whale biologist colleague Nils Øien has an interesting theory. “It could be that these individuals are straying away from their territory in the search for food, and a few of them may have found their way to the Arctic Circle.”
(via tank-commander)