September 12th 10:30 AM - Big Mama & Calf and Mammoth & calf close to Nanaimo

It was another beautiful September day with a pair of mother humpbacks and their calves.
Big Mama and her young one were hanging out in the middle of the Strait of Georgia on the Horseshoe Bay ferry line. Nearby was Mammoth and her young one as well. These 2 pairs were circling around, likely feeding on the plankton, krill, and small fish in the area as they get ready for their migration which is only a little over a month away.

While the young ones are likely still relying heavily on mom’s milk, they should also be foraging for their own food at least a little. This means they often have energy to burn, as mom’s high-fat milk should be providing plenty of nutrients to the calves, any food they forage for is just a bonus! The humpbacks are usually pretty plump at this time of year, after foraging all summer long, and sometimes we get lucky and they expend some of this energy for us. Today Big Mama’s calf cartwheeled - the act of throwing its tail in a wide arch, and did some tail slapping while we watched. Mammoth and her calf were too preoccupied with lunch, milling about and foraging in the surface waters.

In about 6 weeks our humpbacks will begin to slowly disappear, returning to the warmer tropical waters to breed and give birth. In previous years most of our humpbacks were gone by the end of November, however, last year we were able to see humpbacks well into December! There have even been reports of some humpbacks staying all winter in the northern islands. We aren’t sure why some of the whales wait so long to leave, or not leave at all. Our best guess is that they decided not to partake in the breeding ground activities and instead wanted to stay at the all-you-can-eat buffet in our waters! We’re looking forward to seeing who stays around this year after most of our regulars have left for Hawaii and Mexico.

Enjoy the photos below taken by our marine naturalists Janine Van Der Linden and Vanessa Vereschahen.

Mammoth (KEX0023)’s 2022 calf. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Mammoth (KEX0023). Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Mammoth (KEX0023) and her 2022 calf. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Big Mama (BCY0324). Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Big Mama (BCY0324)’s 2022 calf. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Big Mama (BCY0324)’s fluke and her 2022 calf’s pectoral fin in the same photo. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Big Mama (BCY0324) tail lobbing. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

An Immature Rhinoceros Auklet. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Can you spot the seal? Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Same seal, different pose! Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Jilann LechnerSeptember 18, 2022Comment