Brazil humpback whale population on the rebound

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Last year, nearly 11,500 humpback whales were counted off the coast of Brazil - a new record, the Baleia Jubarte Institute cheered on Sunday in a report.

That's 2,200 more whales than were counted four years ago in the same stretch of water, between Rio de Janeiro and the north-eastern Sergipe state, the institute said.

And a decade ago, when scientists made their very first count in these waters, they were only able to spot 3,400 of the aquatic giants.

The species - which travels to the area from Antarctica to breed each year from July to October - had nearly completely disappeared from Brazilian waters after the Spanish first introduced predatory whaling in the 1600s.