Scientists finally mapped where humpbacks gather near Tokyo's far islands

After five years of tracking 160 whale groups around Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands, researchers built the first habitat map showing exactly where humpback whales feed, rest and raise calves — shallow, gently sloping waters off the island's west coast. Published in the journal Mammal Study, it gives whale-watching crews and conservationists a shared guide to protecting the whales without spoiling the encounter.