Humpback whale makes one of the longest migrations ever recorded, scientists say

A male humpback whale made one of the longest and most unusual migrations on record for the species, an anomaly scientists say might be linked to climate change.

The whale was first sighted in waters off northwestern Colombia in July 2013, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science on the creature's movements and how to potentially explain them. Authors said that same whale was seen again four years later, in another spot off the Colombian coast about 50 miles away from the location of the first sighting. 

An unlikely third encounter with the humpback happened in August 2022, when it was spotted off eastern Africa in a channel between Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. The whale would have had to cross multiple oceans and travel more than 8,000 miles from the Colombian Pacific to get there, and experts believe it was trying to find a mate or food. The whale's lengthy voyage set a record for the longest known migration between breeding grounds.