Luban, the first Arabian Sea humpback whale to have been documented crossing from Oman to India, has now completed a return journey and is once again swimming in the waters around Masirah Island where she was originally tagged in November 2017.
The female humpback was first photographed and identified in the Gulf of Masirah in October 2002 and is one of 14 whales tagged, she is the solo female. Approximately 12 weeks after being tagged, Luban began to make her way north along the west coast of India, until she headed offshore again – westward across the Arabian Sea and back to her starting point in the Gulf of Masirah. Recent scientific studies reveal that Arabian humpbacks are mysterious, having only been discovered as a genetically distinct humpback population in 2007 and the only known non-migratory population of humpback whales in the world so when Luban left her pod far behind, it took scientists by surprise.
Arabian humpbacks are classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List and this latest news of Luban’s return, proves the need for collaboration between Arabian Sea range states to protect this endangered population.
