For animals that humans almost drove into extinction, there’s a lot about whales we still don’t know. Consider the bowhead whale in particular. “But even today, we’re still learning very basic things about the reproductive cycle of animals like these. That would edge out elephant pregnancies — the longest known within the mammalian kingdom — by a month. Their findings, published on Wednesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science, illuminate the complexities underlying the whale’s population growth, which Dr. Lysiak hopes can guide conservation efforts, especially as an inhospitable climate looms.

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Persons: ”, Nadine Lysiak, Lysiak Organizations: Royal Society Open Science