Record number of humpback whale calves found off B.C.: researchers
Humpback whales are thriving in the waters of southern British Columbia and northern Washington state, according to naturalists.
Researchers at the U.S.-based Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) and the Center for Whale Research say a record number of humpback calves were identified in the Salish Sea in 2021.
A total of 21 new calves have been photographed and documented in the inland waters of B.C. and Washington, according to the groups.
That's the most new calves ever recorded in the region in a single season -- nearly twice as many as were reported in 2020, when 11 calves were documented, according to Mark Malleson of the Center for Whale Research.
“2021 has been a banner year for female humpbacks coming into the Salish Sea with new calves,” says Wendi Robinson, a naturalist with the Washington-based Puget Sound Express whale-watching group.
“Calves only travel with mom for a year or so and then they’re on their own. Once they’re familiar with our waters, they will often return year after year to feed.”
According to researchers, the fall is peak season for humpback activity off B.C. as the whales take advantage of their last feeding opportunities before heading south for the winter.
In the coming months, Salish Sea humpback whales will swim to their breeding grounds near Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America to mate and give birth before returning with their calves in late spring.
A humpback known as "Spit Fluke" was recently spotted near Victoria with her new female calf.
“The calf started things off with a few tail slaps, which mom then joined in on,” says Val Shore, a naturalist with Eagle Wing Tours in Victoria.
Split Fluke, born in 2006 to "Heather," has been matched through photographs to winter breeding grounds near Mexico, according to researchers.
Her new calf, not yet named, is her third calf and represents a third generation of Salish Sea humpback whales, according to the PWWA.
Similarly, a naturalist for Anacortes, Wash.-based Island Adventures Whale Watching was doing seasonal work in Hawaii in March when she spotted a humpback whale with a youngster in tow.
The naturalist was able to identify the whale as “Dreamer," a 10-year-old humpback that has been photographed in recent years feeding near Victoria and the B.C. Gulf Islands during the summer, according to the association.
Dreamer and her young calf were seen this week by PWWA naturalists in the Strait of Georgia.
“Our community was excited to receive the March report from Hawaii,” said Erin Gless, executive director of the association, in a statement Friday. “We’re thrilled to say that both mom and baby have arrived safely in the Salish Sea.”
Researchers say they don't know exactly why humpbacks experienced a baby boom in 2021, but an abundance of food or a natural fluctuation in the number of adult whales could be to blame.
"It could be as simple as the fact that as the number of adult whales in the population grows, so too does the number of calves we can expect to see each year,” Gless said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.