Sightings and Satellite Tracking of a
Blue/Fin Whale Hybrid in its Wintering and Summering Ranges in the Eastern
North Pacific
Jefferson, Thomas A;
Palacios, Daniel M; Calambokidis, John; Baker, C. Scott;
Hayslip, Craig E; Jones, Paul A; Lagerquist, Barbara A;
Jørgensen, Morten; and Schulman-Janiger, Alisa
Abstract
We report 20 photo-documented sightings
of a blue/fin whale hybrid between 2004 and 2020, in its wintering and
summering ranges in the Gulf of California, Mexico, and southern California,
USA, respectively. The whale was
confirmed to be a hybrid by genetic testing using a reference dataset of
non-hybrid blue and fin whales. It was also tracked by satellite for 28 days in
2015, showing its feeding range extended to the Big Sur area of central
California. Information is presented to
assist in field identification of blue/fin whale hybrids.