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Animal lists · 12 entries

Animals With the Longest Migrations

The Arctic tern holds the longest confirmed migration of any animal at roughly 70,000 to 90,000 kilometres per year round trip between Arctic breeding grounds and Antarctic feeding waters — measured by geolocator tags, not estimation from range maps.

Updated 25 July 2026

Migration distance is easy to overstate. A straight line between two range extremes is not a migration route, and many quoted figures for whales and fish come from inference rather than tracked individuals. Geolocator tags, satellite transmitters and photo-identification have replaced guesswork for the best-studied species.

This list ranks round-trip or annual migration distances from instrumented tracking where available. One-way distances are doubled to allow comparison unless the animal genuinely migrates in a loop. Partial migrations — where only part of a population moves — are noted.

How this list was compiled

Entries are ranked by documented round-trip or annual travel distance from satellite tags, geolocators or long-term photo-identification studies. Straight-line range estimates without tracking data are excluded or flagged as unverified. Partial migrations are noted. Altitudinal migrations — moving upslope seasonally — are excluded because the distances are orders of magnitude smaller.

Animals With the Longest Migrations

  1. Arctic tern

    ~70,000–90,000 km/year

    Tracked individuals between Greenland and Antarctica. The longest confirmed annual migration of any animal.

  2. Sooty shearwater

    ~64,000 km/year

    Pacific populations tracked across the entire ocean basin in figure-of-eight loops.

  3. Humpback whale

    ~16,000–25,000 km/year

    Antarctic feeding grounds to tropical breeding lagoons. One tagged female logged over 16,000 km in a single season.

  4. Gray whale

    ~16,000–22,000 km/year

    Eastern Pacific population migrates from Bering Sea feeding grounds to Baja lagoons.

  5. Northern wheatear

    ~15,000 km (one way); ~30,000 km round trip

    Small songbird crossing the Atlantic from Alaska and Canada to sub-Saharan Africa — remarkable for its body size.

  6. Leatherback turtle

    ~16,000 km/year (tracked)

    Trans-Pacific migrations between nesting beaches and feeding grounds documented by satellite tags.

  7. Monarch butterfly

    ~4,800 km (multi-generational)

    The migration spans generations — no single individual completes the round trip. Distance is the full route, not one butterfly's flight.

  8. Caribou

    ~5,000 km/year (some herds)

    Barren-ground caribou herds in Canada and Alaska travel farther than any terrestrial mammal migration.

  9. Wildebeest

    ~1,800 km (Serengeti loop)

    The famous Serengeti circuit. Shorter in total distance than Arctic migrations but the largest terrestrial mammal movement by biomass.

  10. Salmon

    Varies; up to ~3,000 km upstream

    Ocean feeding migrations plus upstream spawning runs. Distance varies enormously by species and river system.

  11. Blue whale

    ~10,000+ km/year (estimated)

    Satellite tags confirm long-distance movement between feeding and breeding areas; full annual circuits are less precisely documented than humpbacks.

  12. Bar-tailed godwit

    ~11,000 km non-stop (one leg)

    Holds the record for longest non-stop flight — Alaska to New Zealand in roughly nine days without landing.

Key facts

  • The Arctic tern travels roughly 70,000 to 90,000 kilometres per year — the longest confirmed migration of any animal.
  • Seabirds dominate the top of the list because oceanic feeding loops cover enormous distances.
  • Monarch butterfly migration spans generations — no single individual completes the full route.
  • Caribou herds undertake the longest terrestrial mammal migrations at up to 5,000 kilometres annually.
  • The bar-tailed godwit holds the non-stop flight record at around 11,000 kilometres without landing.
  • Many whale migration distances were historically estimated from range maps; satellite tagging has confirmed and revised those figures.

Animals With the Longest Migrations: frequently asked questions

What animal migrates the farthest?
The Arctic tern, travelling roughly 70,000 to 90,000 kilometres per year between Arctic breeding grounds and Antarctic waters. This is the longest confirmed annual migration.
Do any animals migrate pole to pole?
Arctic terns effectively do — breeding in the high Arctic and wintering in Antarctic waters. Tracked individuals have logged the full round trip annually.
What is the longest non-stop flight?
The bar-tailed godwit, which flies roughly 11,000 kilometres from Alaska to New Zealand without landing — about nine days in the air.
How far do monarch butterflies migrate?
The full eastern North American route spans roughly 4,800 kilometres, but it takes multiple generations. No single butterfly completes the round trip.
What is the longest land animal migration?
Barren-ground caribou herds in North America, travelling up to roughly 5,000 kilometres annually. Wildebeest cover shorter total distances but move in larger biomass.
How is migration distance measured?
Primarily by satellite tags and geolocators attached to individual animals. These log GPS positions over months, producing actual routes rather than straight-line estimates.

Sources

How we check facts: our sourcing standards →

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