If a humpback whale breaches mostly for fun, then a certain baby humpback whale had an absolute blast on Monday in California’s Monterey Bay.
According to researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger, who witnessed the extraordinary display, the female humpback whale calf in the accompanying footage breached more than 50 times while traveling with mom.
“She breached her heart out,” Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, told FTW Outdoors. “It was very unusual. I counted at least 53 breaches – all types of breaches. It was awe inspiring!’
Schulman-Janiger was aboard the Point Sur Clipper with research partner Nancy Black, who owns Monterey Bay Whale Watch. They were nearing the end of an all-day whale-watching expedition when the calf began to jump nearly free of the surface, while mom mostly lingered nearby.
“Everyone on the boat was thrilled and more than happy to stay out two extra hours to watch the calf,” Black said.
The calf is only a few months old – likely born between December and January – and appears to have been practicing behaviors learned recently from mom.
Nobody is certain why humpback whales breach, but in some instances it seems to be purely for fun.
The same humpback whale mother and calf were spotted a day earlier exhibiting tail-throw and lob-tail behaviors in what might have been teaching moments.
–Images and video showing the humpback whale calf are courtesy of Monterey Bay Whale Watch/Gowhales.com
