Northernmost records of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrating from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Pacific coast of Nicaragua

We report the northernmost records to date of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales migrating from the Antarctica Peninsula to the Pacific coast of Nicaragua during the austral winter. From 2015 to 2018, data from opportunistic sightings of humpback whales were gathered during boat trips in Nicaragua, crowd-sourced through local citizen science efforts in the region and matched with a whale photographed in Antarctica through the citizen science program Happywhale. Sightings were made between July and October, coinciding with the occurrence of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales in their breeding areas. Whale sightings were lowest in July (6.3%), peaked in August (59.4%,), and declined in September (22.0%) and October (12.5%). The photographic recapture of one whale in Antarctica confirmed that whales migrating from the Southern Hemisphere enter Nicaraguan waters. These findings indicate either a previously unknown migratory pattern of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales, and/or a potential northward extension of their breeding grounds.