Radio Tracking of a Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
G. C. RAY 1,
E. D. MITCHELL 2,
D. WARTZOK 3,
V. M. KOZICKI 4, and
R. MAIEFSKI 5
1 Department of Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
2 Fisheries and Marine Science Environment Canada, Sainte Anne de Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3L6
3 Department of Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University
4 Fisheries and Marine Science Environment Canada
5 Encinitas, California 92024
A tagged whale of the genus Balaenoptera was intermittently tracked by radio for 27.8 hours over a distance of about 145 kilometers. Data on breathing and movement show that during that time the whale took 58 breaths in 130 minutes and traveled 20 kilometers at more than 9 kilometers per hour. Precise measurements of such parameters and of other features of the life history of great whales, which travel long distances over the high seas, often in groups, are now possible through radio tagging.
Submitted on April 26, 1976
Revised on July 17, 1978
