Humped Whales in Puerto Rico’s west coast

Este artículo es reproducido por CienciaPR con permiso de la fuente original.

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Cited from article by Gladys Nieves Ramírez for endi.com "The coasts of western Puerto Rico serve as a delivery room; biologists affirm that the whales prefer this zone over the Samaná bay because of its shallower and calm waters.” "They prefer to give birth here and mate in Samaná. For that reason, there you see them jump, doing many things, because they are trying to call the females attention. When they come here, females already have the calves”, pointed out Ruperto Chaparro, of the Sea Grant Program at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez. According to a study by marine biologist Ilse Sanders, the area that the whales prefer to give birth and to mate is more extensive than it was believed. In addition to Rincón, where they are seen most frequently, this zone includes the small island of Desecheo, El Seco, in Mayagüez, and Puerto Real, in Cabo Rojo, revealed the study published last year in the "Caribbean Journal of Science". Sanders, professor of the Inter-American University in San Germán, emphasized that the finding is important because it helps the government and private organizations to take measures to protect the whales. Although the whales can live up to 80 years, they face a series of threats, like heavy metal -especially mercury- accumulation in the seas, hunting, excessive noises and fishing nets. The American Society of Cetaceans estimates that there are between 30.000 to 40.000 humped whales, 30% of its original population.