“In Magadan, scientists were able to successfully complete the expedition of the Nature and People Foundation and the Institute of Economics and Ecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences to study bowhead whales in the northern Sea of Okhotsk. The expedition explored a unique area in Shelikhov Bay – Penzhinskaya Bay, where such work had never been done before – and met about 15 whales. Genetic analysis of biopsies collected from whales will make it possible to understand their “record”, if scientists have ever encountered them before, and how isolated this group is. It is possible that we are dealing with a new, unique and previously unstudied group of bowhead whales,” the report says.
As reported by the press service, scientists took a biopsy sample from a bowhead whale, obtained valuable information about the time and migration routes of animals, took photographs for further identification and replenishment of the database, and established contact with local residents to receive new information about the appearance of whales. Scientists even rescued a beluga whale that got entangled in fishing nets. However, the most successful area for researchers turned out to be Penzhinskaya Bay – a unique and inaccessible place known for the strongest ebbs and flows in the entire Pacific Ocean: level fluctuations here exceed 12 meters.
“We were able to spot bowhead whales in the upper part of Penzhinskaya Bay because we were in the days of low tides, and despite this, the current still greatly influenced the work of sailing when a whale dives, as the ship is constantly drifting,” says the head of the expedition, employee of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences Milena Morozova.
Another rather experimental task of the expedition was the training of a biodetector dog. A Jack Russell terrier named Zhuzha became a full member of the team and learned to search for whales by smell. This is the first time such an experiment has been carried out in Russia.
“We managed to do a lot on this expedition. It is important that Zhuzha was resistant to pitching and behaved well on the boat. We showed her the porpoises approaching the yacht, and then she worked on her own. With her bow, she looked and “sniffed” out “there are animals around.” As a first stage of training, this is a very good result and in the future, when the dog learns and is fully ready, she will walk on a boat. “The boat stands on the bow and, when it detects a whale, it reacts accordingly,” says young scientist Yulia Ganitskaya, an employee of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The study of bowhead whales does not end this season: as early as September, a team of scientists plans to tag the marine giants with satellite tags to monitor their migration throughout the year.
“Unfortunately, the endangered population of bowhead whales in the Sea of Okhotsk is still poorly studied. It is important for specialists to gather as much information as possible in order to develop conservation measures,” comments Irina Onufrenia, head of the wildlife conservation program in the Sea of Okhotsk at the Nature and People Foundation.
