- An injured humpback whale just swam 3,000 miles with a broken spine, researchers said.
- Moon the humpback whale was likely injured because a vessel struck her back, BC Whales said.
A humpback whale just finished swimming more than 3,000 miles from Canada's west coast to the Hawaiian island of Maui — with a broken spine.
Moon the humpback whale was spotted in waters near Maui on December 1, according to a post the non-profit research group BC Whales shared on Facebook on Thursday.
Researchers were able to identify the female whale immediately because of her contorted body, likely the result of having been struck by a ship.
Her injury was first noticed on September 7, when a drone off the Canadian coast captured images of her spine twisted in an unnatural "S" leading down to her dorsal fin, BC Whales said.
Janie Wray, the CEO and lead researcher for BC Whales, told The Guardian that Moon's injury meant the whale had to swim differently to finish her journey.
"Without the use of her tail, she was literally doing the breaststroke to make that migration. It's absolutely amazing," she told the outlet. "But it also just breaks your heart."
Now that Moon has arrived near Hawaii, where humpback whales often migrate in search of tropical waters for their breeding grounds, it's almost certain that she will die there, the non-profit said.
"The harrowing images of her twisted body stirred us all," BC Whales wrote in its post. "She was likely in considerable pain yet she migrated thousands of miles without being able to propel herself with her tail. Her journey left her completely emaciated and covered in whale lice as testament to her severely depreciated condition. "
BC Whales said Moon's determination to complete her migration showed "the lengths whales will go to follow patterns of behavior" and their traditions.
Scientists suspect humpback whales have their own traditions and cultures that can evolve over generations. The gentle giants have been observed improving upon their feeding techniques and sharing new songs they use to communicate.
In Moon's case, she was seen passing on the tradition of migrating between her feeding and breeding grounds to a calf in 2020, per BC Whales.
The group urged boaters to be familiar with local laws and best practices to avoid striking whales with their vessels.
"We will never truly understand the strength it took for Moon to take on what is regrettably her last journey, but it is on us to respect such tenacity within another species and recognize that vessel strikes lead to a devastating end," it wrote.