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Humpbacks return to Rio: the whales are back from the brink of extinction
The gigantic aquatic acrobats are exciting Brazil’s tourists as numbers recover from whaling. But some marine biologists question how booming tourism and conservation can coexist
TL;DR
- Humpback whale populations in Brazil have recovered significantly from near-extinction, rising from fewer than 1,000 individuals in the late 1980s to nearly 30,000-35,000 today.
- Whale watching tours in Rio de Janeiro are becoming popular, offering tourists a chance to see humpback whales and dolphins.
- Humpbacks are being spotted more frequently, even within Rio's Guanabara Bay, with some behaviors suggesting they are returning to historical areas.
- The growing whale-watching industry aims to combine tourism with research, with trained researchers on boats collecting data to aid conservation efforts.
- Concerns exist regarding the potential negative impacts of increased tourism, including boat traffic and pollution, on whale conservation and the need for stricter monitoring of regulations.