How long would it take a whale to swim from California to Japan?
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Hi friends. You might notice something a little different about this episode. That's because it's part of the moment of calm. You'll hear different theme music that is quieter and calmer. That makes these episodes great for winding down before bedtime or when you just need a few minutes to relax. Thanks for listening. From the brains behind Brains On, this is the Moment of Um. Moment of Um comes to you from APM Studios. I'm Loretta Lobster.

Thank you for calling Sandy Bottom Undersea Travel Services, where we'll help you plan the trip of your dreams. How can I help you? Mmm, I see. And what route are you interested in? Gosh, that sounds like a lovely trip. Mmm, yes. I'll look into it right away and call you back within the hour.

Well, that was interesting. It was a fin whale who's planning a special long-distance trip for herself and her extended family. I know whales do all kinds of long migrations, but this one seems extra long. She wanted to know how long it would take for her to swim from San Diego, California, all the way to Japan. And that's something Harper and Tony were wondering, too. Gosh, I don't know how fast whales swim or how far they can go. I think I'd better speak to a whale expert.

So the distance from San Diego to Tokyo, I think the question asked for Japan, but I picked a city in Japan so that we would have a target, is around 5,500 miles. Hi, my name is Vicki Stein. I am a science writer and I used to work as a naturalist on sanctuary cruises. I used to work on a whale watching boat leading tours in Monterey Bay, California. So that's just ocean distance.

And that's really quite far. There are lots of different species of whales. We're going to be talking about baleen whales, which tend to be larger. They're filter feeders, so they eat very small fish and they strain out water from these fish through these plates of baleen in their mouths, which are like hairy plates that come down where their teeth might be. So they don't have any teeth. They strain out their food from the water.

And they are incredible animals. They sometimes go for months and months without feeding. So they do actually undergo these incredible migrations where they will cross entire oceans.

Some of these baleen whales are incredibly speedy. They are huge, they are powerful, they're streamlined so they can just slip right through the water. Fin whales and blue whales would be the fastest of those. Fin whales in particular have been clocked going up to 25 miles per hour. Some people speculate that they could go faster if they were really motivated.

The fastest humans like Michael Phelps or somebody else who's an Olympic swimmer can do short bursts up to about six miles per hour. So compared to us, all of those whales are incredibly speedy. They're among the fastest creatures in the ocean. So under good conditions, if the whale is healthy and the weather is good, going about 5,500 miles at about 25 miles per hour would take a fin whale about 220 hours or a little bit over nine days.

There are some whales that are less speedy. So humpback whales and gray whales have more lumps and bumps to their bodies. They're just less built for speed, but they still do incredible migrations, just generally closer to, you know, three to four miles an hour at a time.

So at that migration speed, it would take more like 60 days to complete the journey between San Diego and Japan. So while whales don't actually tend to swim from San Diego to Japan, that's not a typical migration route. You do have some incredible migrators among these whales. Gray whales in particular, they spend their summers feeding off the coast of Alaska. And then for the winter, they actually swim all the way down to Baja, California.

and they give birth to their babies down there, and they socialize, and they spend winter in warmer waters. Incredible. A whale's swimming speed depends quite a bit on the shape of its body. A humpback whale, with all of its knobby bits and barnacles, is more of a slow cruiser. They could get from San Diego, California to Tokyo, Japan in around 60 days, or about two months.

On the other claw, there's fin whales and other sleek species that can torpedo through the water much faster. It would only take an adult fin whale nine days to reach Tokyo from San Diego. It makes my little lobster legs tired just thinking about all that travel. Well, now I can call that nice fin whale back with this information and wish her a bon voyage. Who knows? Maybe she'll want to upgrade to our premium pod package. Wish me luck.

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