Tasmanian births extend humpback calving zone by 1,500 km
A 2025 UNSW-led Frontiers in Marine Science study analyzed neonate humpback calves across Australia and New Zealand, finding newborns well south of the previously accepted calving limit—up to 43°S in Tasmania—extending the observed calving area by about 1,500 km and showing some mothers birth during migration and continue north with their calves. This challenges the tidy model of migration with a fixed birth zone, has conservation implications due to exposure to ships and fishing along the extended route, and calls for further research on how often mid‑migration births occur and calf survival compared with births in traditional warmer grounds.
