A humpback whale has broken the world record for travel by any mammal. It swam at least 9,800 kilometres from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean in search of a mate. Marine biologists say the female humpback was first photographed among a group of whales at a breeding ground on Abrolhos Bank, off Brazil's southeastern coast, on August 7 1999. By sheer chance, it was photographed more than two years later, on September 21, 2001 by a commercial whale-watching tour at Ile Sainte Marie off the eastern coast of Madagascar. The whale was identified thanks to the distinctive shape of its tail and a pattern of spots on it.