The baby Humpbacks have arrived for season 2017! We met three different mother and calf pods just off the coast of Perth this morning with one little female calf showing her adventurous spirit as she came racing over to meet us before being abruptly stopped by mum who blocked her fast approach, even Humpback calves need to learn all about stranger danger. Once she had calmed a bit her mum allowed her to approach us and she seemed so excited and was rolling around at the surface which allowed us to confirm she was a female calf due to a small lump that the females have on their lower belly that the males do not.
The second calf was enjoying some sleep in time with mum while the third little one was very small and most likely the first calf for the female we met. Young female Humpbacks will generally have their first calf around the ages of 10-12 years depending on when they reach that 10 meter length and their bodies are ready to undertake a 4-6 month long migration that is a round trip of up to 13,000 km long, all without feeding for the entire time. Being a Humpback mum is pretty hard work but the rewards certainly make up for it with the beautiful bouncy Humpback calves we see every year.
