New Zealand scientists invite public to whale-watch by satellite

A file photo of a group of whale watchers observing a southern right whale near the town of Hermanus, at the southern coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa. Tracking shows the southern right whales, known as tohora in Maori, leaving Port Ross for the summer, but they had defied predictions of where they might head next. — AFP

Scientists have attached satellite tracking tags to six New Zealand southern right whales and are inviting the public to follow their travels online.

An expedition to Port Ross, more than 400 kilometres south of New Zealand’s Stewart Island, aimed to find out more about the migration routes and offshore feeding grounds of the whales, lead researcher Emma Carroll said in a statement on Tuesday.