Photo: Matias Arenas
Main Tracking Map
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Weekly Summary
Information updated to: May 17, 2022
We have now been tracking six whales in the SW Atlantic Ocean for 230 days.
Andromeda, the southernmost mother, has been traveling through the Weddell Sea since February 2022. This past week she started moving northwards and is now in the waters of the Scotia Sea. Amalthea, another adult female in the far south, remains north of the South Sandwich Islands (Islas Sandwich del Sur).
The other four whales are over the continental shelf in the Patagonian Sea. Orion, the solitary individual, continues in the area between the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands and the province of Santa Cruz, taking advantage of the highly productive sea front of the Southern Shelf. Antares, an adult female, is close to Orion, near the coast just south of the mouth of the Strait of Magellan.
The last two mothers with calves, Centaura and Electra, are close to the Peninsula Valdés. Centaura remains in the area off the Peninsula, while Electra travelled northwest from the Blue Hole, and is now at the latitude of Peninsula Valdés, 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the east.
Important information about satellite tracking
Animal welfare: New generation satellite tags used by the project may have minimal and short-term effects on the behavior and health of the animals. This research strives to use the safest technology to track whales.
Positions recorded: Positions have a margin of error of 200 to 2000 meters (which is the reason some tracks that are close to shore seem to be on dry land).
Duration: The devices stop sending data when they become detached, which can occur weeks or months after their deployment, or when their batteries run out, depending on various factors, but mainly on the type of tag used. In 2021, we deployed 12 short-term and 6 long-term devices.