Humpbacks return to Rio: the whales are back from the brink of extinction – but will tourism help or hinder?

The gigantic aquatic acrobats are exciting Brazil’s tourists as numbers recover from whaling. But some marine biologists question how booming tourism and conservation can coexist The anticipation is palpable onboard the Boaventura II as the yacht sets off from Rio de Janeiro at sunrise. Once beyond the Cagarras Islands, rocky outcrops just three miles off Ipanema beach, the group gathers at the bow and starts scanning the horizon. They do not have to wait long. “Eleven o’clock!” someone calls...

By Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro