A humpback whale with a broken back has somehow migrated over 3,000 miles from feeding grounds in British Columbia to breeding grounds in Hawaii, despite not being able to use her tail to propel her through the water. Scientists are marveling at her tenacity and hope her plight can serve as a cautionary tale to mariners.
The drones of BC Whales, a nonprofit whale-research organization in British Columbia, spotted a lone injured female humpback whale traveling past the Fin Island Research Station in Gitga’at Territory toward warmer waters on Sept. 7. The whale was sighted with an S-shaped “blunt force” injury to her spine, running from her dorsal fin to her fluke, likely caused by a boat strike. However, her full “tragic story” came to light only months later, the organization said in a press release….