Gray whales have one of the longest migrations of all marine mammals, travelling between 10,000 and 12,000 miles each year. They complete a round trip between Mexico’s warm waters for mating and the Arctic for feeding, remaining near the shore throughout their lengthy journey, making tracking them a little easier.
Scientists do not however entirely understand just how gray whales accomplish this navigational feat, but a new study reported in the journal Current Biology offers some of the first evidence that gray whales may depend on a magnetic sense to find their way through the ocean. This evidence comes from the discovery that healthy whales are more likely to strand themselves on days when solar storms disrupt the Earth’s magnetic field.
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