Image: a “breaching machine” juvenile humpback whale is seen starting another leap right next to its mother.
2023 04-27 SB Coast
Captain Dave and the crew ran a single, 12n, excursion. There was a high stratus layer all day and seas were very flat and calm. Sightings were of phenomenal quality today, which theses raw numbers do not tell the whole story: 3 humpback whales.
About 5 miles out from the harbor we spotted and watched a single, juvenile humpback whale for about 15 minutes as it maintained a regular dive cycle with nothing out of the ordinary. It showed us good tail flukes.
Nearby, however, things got a bit more interesting as we spent the rest of the excursion watching a very active and special mom/calf humpback pair. The calf spent well over an hour repeatedly breaching its heart out. (You may remember that juvenile humpbacks MUST breach, throw tails, slap pecs, as it fosters the development of oxygen-carrying myoglobin in adulthood). This calf breached approximately every 30 seconds, and was a marvelous little whale to watch.
Meanwhile, oblivious to her breaching offspring, the adult female was busy feeding. Her surface feeding on northern anchovies included some huge vertical lunges and a few upside-down, sideways lunges. Showmanship (showwhaleship?) must run in this family!
You never know what Mother Nature has in store. Bob Perry Condor Express, and CondorExpressPhotos.com