Scientists once believed that humpback whales only gave birth in the warmth and safety of specific breeding grounds in tropical waters, where they spent half the year.
However, new research has revealed that humpbacks around Tasmania and New Zealand can birth calves much further south than expected, and can do so during their epic migrations.
“Historically the ‘feeding/breeding’ paradigm has dominated humpback whale ecology, where feeding and reproduction are spatially and temporally separated, with summer ‘feeding grounds’ and winter ‘breeding grounds’ restricted to habitats at the latitudinal extremes of their range,” the authors of the findings wrote. “In this paradigm, the summer and winter habitats are connected by a ‘migration corridor’ considered only to be a thoroughfare… However, humpback whales have been shown to feed in this migration corridor along with performing other important behaviors, such as resting, maintenance of skin health, and song sharing.”
One or two? How many can you see?
NEW whale research out today
McPhee-Frew et al. 2025
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar…
— Dr Vanessa Pirotta (@drvanessapirotta.bsky.social) May 20, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Scientists say the results mean we must improve awareness of their expanded calving areas in order to protect baby whales.
“Hundreds of humpback calves were born well outside the established breeding grounds,” said Dr. Tracey Rogers, senior author of the findings and a marine ecologist at University of New South Wales, in a press release from Frontiers. “Giving birth along the ‘humpback highway’ means these vulnerable calves, who are not yet strong swimmers, are required to swim long distances much earlier in life than if they were born in the breeding grounds.”
The new discovery calls into question much of the scientific understanding of the lives of humpbacks. It had been thought that humpbacks spent summers feeding on krill in the polar and subpolar waters of places like Alaska, Iceland and Southern Greenland, then migrated south to warmer waters in the Caribbean, off the coast of Mexico and in the Hawaiian Islands.
“Alongside my studies, I work as a marine guide,” said lead author of the study Jane McPhee-Frew, a Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences at the University of New South Wales. “In July 2023, during a whale-watching tour, I encountered a mum and calf at the mouth of Newcastle Harbor — the busiest shipping port in Eastern Australia. The calf was tiny, obviously brand new. What were they doing there? But none of my tourism colleagues seemed surprised.”
Inspired by the sighting, researchers investigated the humpback whales’ calving range around New Zealand and Australia using citizen observations, reported strandings and government surveys. Data from migration surveys was supplied by New Zealand’s Department of Conservation Cook Strait Whale Project, and information on whale strandings as far back as 1991 was provided by Australian state wildlife departments.
The research team found records of humpback whale calves that included 11 births, 168 observations of calves and 41 strandings. Information on 118 whales’ direction of travel showed they continued to migrate north after giving birth.
“Humpback whale populations undertake extensive long-distance migrations from the Southern Ocean to breeding grounds in the tropics,” said co-author of the study Dr. Adelaide Dedden, a marine wildlife project officer with Australia’s National Parks and Wildlife Service. “They rely heavily on body reserves from an enormous amount of Antarctic krill to support the physiological costs of the journey and reproduction.”
The highest latitude where a humpback whale calf was detected was at Port Arthur, Tasmania — 932.1 miles further south than the researchers had previously thought humpbacks could calve.
The highest-latitude birth that was recorded was witnessed at Kaikoura, New Zealand, slightly further north.
A mother and baby whale swim at Kiama, New South Wales, Australia. Vanessa Risku – Instagram: droning_my_sorrows
Most observations of live humpback calves were recorded in 2016 and after, with two-thirds of them made in 2023 or 2024. Comparisons with whaling logbooks and historical texts indicated that calves born on the migration route had been observed before whaling decimated the population.
“I think it’s very likely that this pattern has always existed, but the low number of whales obscured it from view,” McPhee-Frew explained. “The Eastern Australia humpback population narrowly escaped extinction, but now there are 30, 40, or 50,000 in this population alone. It doesn’t happen overnight, but the recovery of humpback whales, and the return of their full range of behaviors and distribution, just goes to show that with good policies built on good science we can have excellent outcomes.”
The study, “Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) continue migration after giving birth in temperate waters in Australia and New Zealand,” was published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.
The post Humpback Whales Give Birth During Epic Migrations and Continue Traveling: Study appeared first on EcoWatch.
https://www.ecowatch.com/humpback-whales-migrations-birth.html
As humanity grows in its understanding of the complexity of living systems, we will encounter many opportunities to restore nature. Taoist author Deng Ming-Dao wrote in his daily meditations, 365 Tao, that “Life is one endless equation of darkness, brilliance, fragrance, color, sound, and sensation.”
Imagine the joys of nature, live them fiercely and gently in your daily life, and the world can grow anew.
Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.
The post Earth911 Inspiration: Life Is An Endless Equation appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-life-is-an-endless-equation/
Green Living
Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Author Topher McDougal Asks If Earth Is Evolving A Planetary Consciousness
Would you like to read a transcript of this episode? Introducing Sustainability In Your Ear transcripts: Learn more.
What if Earth is developing a planetary collective intelligence emerging from the convergence of ecological crisis, new global information systems, and the data-crunching capabilities of artificial intelligence? This provocative question drives economist Topher McDougal’s book, Gaia Wakes: Earth’s Emergent Consciousness in an Age of Environmental Devastation. On this episode of Sustainability In Your Ear, we explore McDougal’s sweeping theory that our planet may be in the early stages of developing what he calls a “Gaiacephalos”—a planetary consciousness that could fundamentally reshape humanity’s role in the global ecosystem. McDougal opens his book with a striking metaphor from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where the Enterprise’s computer systems flicker into sentience, its emerging “personality” acting out disagreements in the holodeck that nearly destroy the ship. That episode, McDougal argues, mirrors our current moment. As environmental devastation accelerates and technologies become increasingly networked, we may be witnessing the birth pangs of a planetary intelligence that could guide us toward survival or react chaotically to the damage humans have caused.
Building on James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis, which views Earth as a self-regulating living system, McDougal explores the profound and unsettling implications of Gaiacephalos. What is humanity’s role? Noting a paradox in human development, that societies have become increasingly peaceful at the expense of massive environmental degradation, McDougal discusses how concepts like “progress” and “free will” might change in a world governed by an emergent planetary intelligence. Drawing on ancient myths—from Hopi legends to the Tower of Babel—McDougal uses traditional stories as lenses for understanding global transformation. Throughout our conversation, he repeatedly references the work of René Descartes and how his mind-body split has defined Western thinking since the Enlightenment. He argues that this mechanistic view prevents us from understanding emerging systems holistically—whether we’re talking about AI, collective intelligence, or planetary consciousness. We keep separating the physical system that performs calculations from the experience of thought itself, missing the integrated whole. Consequently, becoming “indigenous to our times” offers a path forward. Rather than appropriating Indigenous ways of life, he suggests we need to learn how to live fully in relationship with our current systems and places. True indigeneity means understanding our role within larger systems and, as the apex predator currently destroying the ecosystem we depend on, being thoughtful about our interactions within that system.
What if Earth is developing a planetary collective intelligence emerging from the convergence of ecological crisis, new global information systems, and the data-crunching capabilities of artificial intelligence? This provocative question drives economist Topher McDougal’s book, Gaia Wakes: Earth’s Emergent Consciousness in an Age of Environmental Devastation. On this episode of Sustainability In Your Ear, explore McDougal’s sweeping theory that our planet may be in the early stages of developing what he calls a “Gaiacephalos”—a planetary consciousness that could fundamentally reshape humanity’s role in the global ecosystem. McDougal opens his book with a striking metaphor from Star Trek: The Next Generation, where the Enterprise’s computer systems flicker into sentience, its emerging “personality” acting out disagreements in the holodeck that nearly destroy the ship. That episode, McDougal argues, mirrors our current moment. As environmental devastation accelerates and technologies become increasingly networked, we may be witnessing the birth pangs of a planetary intelligence that could guide us toward survival or react chaotically to the damage humans have caused.
Building on James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis, which views Earth as a self-regulating living system, McDougal explores the profound and unsettling implications of Gaiacephalos. What is humanity’s role? Noting a paradox in human development, that societies have become increasingly peaceful at the expense of massive environmental degradation, McDougal discusses how concepts like “progress” and “free will” might change in a world governed by an emergent planetary intelligence. Drawing on ancient myths—from Hopi legends to the Tower of Babel—McDougal uses traditional stories as lenses for understanding global transformation. Throughout our conversation, McDougal repeatedly references the work of René Descartes and how his mind-body split has defined Western thinking since the Enlightenment. He argues that this mechanistic view prevents us from understanding emerging systems holistically—whether we’re talking about AI, collective intelligence, or planetary consciousness. We keep separating the physical system that performs calculations from the experience of thought itself, missing the integrated whole. McDougal’s concept of becoming “indigenous to our times” offers a path forward. Rather than appropriating Indigenous ways of life, he suggests we need to learn how to live fully in relationship with our current systems and places. True indigeneity means understanding our role within larger systems and, as the apex predator currently destroying the ecosystem we depend on, being thoughtful about our interactions within that system.
Gaia Wakes poses challenging questions about whether we’re building toward a benign planetary intelligence or heading toward dystopian risks. McDougal doesn’t offer easy answers, but he provides a framework for thinking about how technological trends—from AI and smart infrastructure to global information networks—might be assembling the components of a planetary brain. The book is part speculative theory, part analytical deep dive. It challenges readers to think beyond traditional boundaries between nature and technology, individual and collective intelligence, human agency and planetary systems. You can learn more about Topher McDougal and his work at https://tophermcdougal.com/. Gaia Wakes is available on Amazon, Powell’s Books, and at local bookstores.
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Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on August 25, 2025.
The post Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Author Topher McDougal Asks If Earth Is Evolving A Planetary Consciousness appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/podcast/sustainability-in-your-ear-author-topher-mcdougal-asks-if-earth-is-evolving-a-planetary-consciousness/
Yes, we resorted to a Britney Spears reference, but this isn’t cute anymore. The World Meteorological Organization confirmed that 2025 was the second-hottest year on record, with average global temperatures reaching 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels. Only 2024’s record-breaking heat was worse.
The past 11 years are now the warmest 11 years in the 176-year history of temperature records.
What is especially concerning about 2025 is that it occurred during La Niña, a natural Pacific cooling pattern that usually brings lower temperatures. This time, it did not help. Climate scientist James Hansen reportsthat global warming is now speeding up by 0.31°C per decade, and he predicts we will pass the +1.7°C mark by 2027.
For the first time, the average temperature from 2023 to 2025 was higher than the 1.5°C limit set by the Paris Agreement. Scientists say this threshold is crucial to prevent severe and lasting climate impacts for people alive today. In 2024, atmospheric CO₂ reached 423.9 parts per million, which is 53% higher than pre-industrial levels.
Meanwhile, the cascade of extreme weather continues: heat waves are now 10 times more likely than a decade ago, Arctic sea ice hit its lowest winter maximum on record, wildfires are devastating Greece and Turkey, and typhoons are forcing mass evacuations across Southeast Asia.
“Each year above 1.5 degrees will hammer economies, deepen inequalities and inflict irreversible damage,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
The measurements are undeniable. The data cannot be denied. Still, the United States government under the Trump administration is suppressing climate information and reversing clean energy policies to support coal, oil, and gas. COP30 ended without a clear promise to phase out fossil fuels.
As the planet cooks in industrial era pollution, playing politics with climate science is beyond irresponsible. It’s dangerous.
The post Oops, We Did It Again: 2025 Second Hottest Year On Record appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/earth-watch/oops-we-did-it-again-2025-second-hottest-year-on-record/
This Won’t End Well for the Minnesota Shooter
DeBriefed 9 January 2026: US to exit global climate treaty; Venezuelan oil ‘uncertainty’; ‘Hardest truth’ for Africa’s energy transition
DeBriefed 9 January 2026: US to exit global climate treaty; Venezuelan oil ‘uncertainty’; ‘Hardest truth’ for Africa’s energy transition
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