August 19th - Slate and calf and a new face!?

Another beautiful day on the water spent with some of our favourite humpbacks! Slate and Marble (Slate’s calf) were their usual selves in the morning, pec waving at the boats and diving for a delicious lunch. These 2 are fattening up for their trip sounth in only a few more months. When they make it to the breeding grounds Marble and Slate will go their separate ways.

In the afternoon Slate and Marble were joined by someone we haven’t seen yet this summer, Two Spot! Two spot was hanging out with our mom and calf pair as the 3 of them practiced their deep dives, fluking and some pec slapping.

We’ve been so fortunate to be able to watch Marble almost all summer long, growing into a beautiful big boy. Hopefully he will return to us next year so we can see how much he has changed!

Humpback whales can earn their names for a myriad of reasons: unique markings, behaviour, shape, quirks, etc. Here we can see it is quite obvious how Two Spot got their name!

“Mugging” is the term used when a whale gets close to investigate a boat. Here we can see that Marble’s peduncle is sporting some fresh propellor scars. He often approaches boats on his volition, but is still learning his boat safety. Marble is a great reminder that when a whale tries to ‘mug’ you, to shut off your engines and if possible tilt your propellors out of the ocean.

Jilann LechnerAugust 24, 2021Comment