Newborn humpback whale spotted in Salish Sea

A new addition to the Pacific Northwest’s humpback whale population arrived in the Salish Sea this week.

Whale watchers spotted a new whale calf Wednesday afternoon, in Haro Strait, between Canada’s Sidney Island and Washington state’s San Juan Island.

The Pacific Whale Watch Association reports the baby whale is believed to be the offspring of a well-known and beloved humpback female whale, known to the whale-watching community as “Big Mama.”

Big Mama has earned her name in a big way.

The newest baby humpback she’s given birth to is believed to be her eighth calf, spanning three decades.

So they say it’s pretty clear Big Mama has single-handedly played a key role in the recovery of the humpback species.

Big Mama and her 2025 calf.  (Photo: Courtesy Sam Stutz, Eagle Wing Tours, PWWA).

Members of the association captured photos of her newest little one breaching in the strait on Wednesday and traveling alongside its mother.

Observers also witnessed the calf several times Thursday.

The baby whale is believed to be from three to four months old.

During encounters with whale-watching boats, the calf stayed very close to its mom.

Big Mama and her new calf side by side. Photo: Courtesy Taylor Redmond (PWWA).

Officials from the Pacific Whale Watching Association say the calf was likely born in Hawaii, off the coast of Mexico, or near Central America.

In a statement released this week, the association’s Executive Director Erin Gless said:

We’re always eager to see who the first calf of the season will be, and we’re always anxious waiting for Big Mama’s return. This year we got to celebrate both happy occasions at once!”

Experts say humpback mothers do not give birth in the Salish Sea.

Calves are normally born over the winter in warmer waters.

They say Big Mama is a member of a whale population that’s based in Hawaii.

After several months in the warmer waters, the new babies have to travel with their mothers thousands of miles north to their feeding grounds.

Big Mama’s calf pops up its head. Photo: Courtesy Sara Shimazu, Maya’s Legacy (PWWA).

They also have to avoid getting tangled up in fishing gear, being run over by large ships, and eluding killer whales, their natural predators.

Gless also emphasized how important even one humpback mother can be to rebuilding the whale population:

Big Mama is a perfect example of how important a single whale can be to a population.  She was first seen in 1997, and was one of the first humpbacks to return to the Salish Sea after the end of commercial whaling in 1966. She’s been returning ever since, and now has at least eight calves, seven grandcalves, and four great grandcalves. It’s very impressive!”

The association says two other calves Big Mama gave birth to also recently arrived in the Salish Sea.

A whale named “Divot” was born in 2003.

And another, named “Moresby”, was born in 2022.

Biologists say in the next few weeks, even more humpback whales will arrive in the Salish Sea, feeding on small fish and krill in local waters.

They’ll remain through the fall season, before migrating south.