LONG DURATION TRANSMITTER
Calliope
Female with calf
Place of tagging: Golfo Nuevo
Date of tagging: Oct. 24, 2023
Transmission stopped: Apr. 22, 2024

Photo:

Calliope´s tracking route

  • Contact with Calliope was lost on April 22, after several transmission lapses the previous week. During the 180 days she was tracked, she travelled over 14,362.31 kilometers (8,924 miles), and always remained within the area between 40°S and 46°S.

    From November until February she was in the deep ocean basin, following circular paths which indicate she was probably feeding. After returning to the continental shelf mid-February, she was first off Peninsula Valdés, then traveled south, pausing off Cabo Dos Bahías. By mid-April she had arrived in the Blue Hole, where she was when her transmitter ceased functioning.

  • Calliope and Afrodita continue over the continental shelf, off Golfo San Jorge, close to the continental slope. Both whales converged in the productive area of the Blue Hole during the last two weeks of March.

  • These last weeks Calliope remained in the same sector of the Argentine continental shelf. She is now 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the continental slope, and more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the coast of Chubut province.

  • Since the beginning of February Calliope has been over the continental shelf, at the latitude of Rawson, 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Peninsula Valdés. Her zigzag path in this area suggests that she is feeding.

  • Calliope returned to the continental shelf during the last week of January, after traveling within the deep ocean basin for almost 3 months. She is now 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Peninsula Valdés.

  • Calliope is at present about 200 kilometers (124 miles) away from Artemisa. Both of their tracking data show feeding behavior in the ocean basin. This area, as well as the Argentinan continental shelf, are preferred in the summer months by the whales which breed in the waters of Peninsula Valdes.

  • Calliope, as well as Artemisa, is now in the deep ocean basin. While traveling in these deep waters this whale swam in large clockwise circles, which could indicate that she is utilizing the productive currents which bring nutrients to the surface. Mother and calf are now more than 1,300 kilometers (808 miles) east of Peninsula Valdés.

  • Calliope was tagged on October 24, during a brief spell of good weather. This female and her calf explored Golfo Nuevo almost entirely. Like Artemisa, Calliope then traveled to the northeast of the gulf near Punta Cormoranes and Morro Nuevo. On November 7 mother and calf left the waters of Valdés and crossed the continental shelf without stopping until they reached the continental slope. They then traveled from north to south in the Blue Hole, continuing on to the deep ocean basin where Calliope is probably feeding.