Nusf-al-Qamar (Half-moon)
Renaissance Whale and Dolphin Project 2015 Arabian Sea Humpback Whale Satellite Tagging
A project of Environment Society of Oman.
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Species: Humpback Whale
Life Stage: Adult
Gender: Male
Release Date: 2015-03-14 13:57:00
Release Location: Halaniyats Bay
Last Location: 2015-08-21 22:59:07
Background
Nusf-al-qamar (Half-moon) OM01-006
âNusf-al-qamarâ (Half-moon) is part of a unique population of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) specifically referred to as Arabian Sea Humpback Whales. This population is understood to be the only non-migratory population of humpback whales in the world. It has been isolated to the Arabian Sea for over 70,000 years, and from studies conducted within Oman less than 100 individuals are thought to exist. The satellite tagging work is considered critical to understand their spatial ecology and mobilise management efforts to ensure their survival.
Nusf-al-qamar was first encountered by the research team off Sadh in Dhofar, February 2001, and subsequently been seen 7 times since. He was last sighted in December 2014 in the Gulf of Masirah during a seismic survey oil exploration operation. Prior knowledge of the whales presence in the area from previous research enabled the seismic team to adopt stringent measures and ensure exploration activities were shut down when whales were in close proximity. This year he was found when âScoobyâ another whale well known to Hasik lead the research team towards him north of Hasik town. Nusf-al-qamar was singing at the time and seemingly incredibly annoyed at being disturbed by Scoobie during his performance. The two subsequently engaged in aggressive behaviour with Scoobie being stunned in a head to head collision followed by two successive side tail swipes from his sparring partner. Having put Scoobie in his place, Nusf-al-qamar wondered off northwards towards a new singing location where he was tagged and the team continued to listen to his mesmerizing song. Another new whale to watch in 2015, where will his journey take us?
