GoKawiilBeneath the surface of the Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding Gulf lies a biological sanctuary. The region is home to around 7,000 dugongs and fewer than 100 Arabian humpback whales—a nonmigratory population that cannot leave these waters.
The United States and Iran last week agreed to a two-week ceasefire, following weeks of escalating tensions that disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
But the ceasefire has not cleared the water. Naval mines, residual military activity, and congested shipping lanes mean the strait remains a high-risk environment—not just for vessels but also for the ecosystems beneath them.
With 800 vessels currently trapped behind a monthlong maritime blockade, shipowners are preparing to move. But while headlines focus on oil and trade, a different kind of resident is struggling to navigate the Arabian Gulf.
These species are extremophiles, adapted to heat and salinity levels that mirror what much of the world’s oceans may face by 2050. Scientists see them as a living blueprint for how marine ecosystems might survive climate change—if they survive this moment.
Sound Is Survival
Underwater explosions and military sonar don’t just scare whales, they can physically blind them, leading to stranding and death. The Arabian humpback whale, unlike its cousins in the Atlantic, does not migrate. For them, the Gulf is not a corridor but home, a permanent habitat.
Olivier Adam, a researcher at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, says that the Gulf’s resident cetaceans—better known as marine mammals—have limited options: Either abandon their habitat or remain and endure prolonged exposure to noise.
In the case of Arabian humpback whales, relocation is not realistic, as they are one of the only populations that do not migrate between feeding and breeding areas. “These baleen whales have no way to escape,” he says.
Photograph: Getty Images
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