There’s a new member to the Pacific Northwest family.
The first humpback whale calf of 2024 has been spotted in the Salish Sea just off the coast of Vancouver Island and the Washington San Juan Islands.
The Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) says the calf, which they believe to be three- to four-months-old, and its mom Black Pearl were first seen on April 18.
“It’s always fun to see which mom and calf will make it back first,” said PWWA executive director Erin Gless. “Black Pearl tends to spend her summers near north Vancouver Island. This year we were lucky enough to spot her in the Salish Sea.”
According to the PWWA, humpback calves aren’t born in local waters — they usually give birth in warmer waters near Hawai’i, Mexico, and Central America, before travelling thousands of kilometres with their babies to the cooler feeding grounds.
“Black Pearl is known to migrate to the Hawaiian Islands in winter, and has been photographed several times off the coast of Maui. She has given birth to at least three previous calves including the most recent, a male born in 2022 nicknamed ‘Kraken,’” the PWWA said Wednesday.
Black Pearl and her yet-to-be-named calf aren’t the only humpbacks that have returned to the Pacific Northwest in recent weeks.
The PWWA says ‘Big Mama,’ Has also been sighted a handful of times. As her name suggests, she has birthed an “impressive” seven calves, the PWWA explains, with her children giving birth themselves to at least six “grandcalves.”
“Simply put, she’s the whale who started it all,” Gless shared.
The PWWA says more whales will be returning to local waters in the coming weeks, with the mammals set to feed on small fish and crustaceans through the fall.