Summary:
The North Atlantic fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) undertakes long-distance annual migration between high-latitude summer feeding locations and low-latitude winter mating locations, like most of the baleen whales. By statistically comparing genotype profiles of mother-fetus pairs (n = 23) to that of the potential alleged father (n = 139) captured at the same feeding location in Iceland, we found a matching pairing of a mother-fetus captured in 2009 and a father captured in 2010. To our knowledge, the present study is the first one to detect a mother-fetus pair matching with an alleged father, caught at exactly the same feeding area one year later.