“Black Pearl” and her 2024 calf. *Photo: Clint William, Eagle Wing Tours*

First Humpback Mom and Calf of 2024 Spotted in Salish Sea

Famous Humpback Whale “Big Mama” Also Sighted Nearby

VICTORIA, BC & SEATTLE, WA - April 24, 2024 - The Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) announced today that the first humpback calf of the 2024 whale watching season has arrived in the Salish Sea. The calf, likely just three- to four-months old, and its mother, BCX1460 “Black Pearl”, were first seen near San Juan Island on April 18 by PWWA member company Eagle Wing Tours. The pair has been seen several times since in area waters.

“It’s always fun to see which mom and calf will make it back first,” said PWWA executive director Erin Gless. “Black Pearl tends to spend her summers near north Vancouver Island. This year we were lucky enough to spot her in the Salish Sea.”

Humpback calves aren’t born in local waters. Salish Sea humpbacks give birth near Hawai‘i, Mexico, and Central America and then must travel thousands of miles with their babies to cooler feeding grounds. Black Pearl is known to migrate to the Hawaiian Islands in winter, and has been photographed several times off the coast of Maui. She has given birth to at least three previous calves including the most recent, a male born in 2022 nicknamed “Kraken”.

Black Pearl is not the only humpback to return so far this year. The PWWA reports that local whale celebrity BCY0324, known as “Big Mama,” is among a handful of others sighted by whale watchers in the past week. This beloved humpback has proven true to her nickname, giving birth to an impressive seven calves over the years. Big Mama’s first, “Divot”, was born in 2003 and the most recent, “Moresby” was born in 2022. Big Mama’s offspring are also prolific, providing her with at least six “grandcalves” and two “great-grandcalves” so far. She too is part of a population that travels to the Hawaiian Islands during the winter.

“Simply put, she’s the whale who started it all,” continued Gless.

Industrialized whaling removed humpback whales from the Salish Sea by the early 1900s. In all, more than 30,000 humpback whales were killed in the North Pacific during the whaling era, and some scientists estimate as few as 1,000 individuals remained by the time the International Whaling Commission banned commercial hunts for humpback whales in 1966.

“For decades after whaling stopped, there were virtually no sightings in inland BC waters,” Gless said, “but that all changed when Big Mama made her first appearance in 1997. She’s been returning to the Salish Sea ever since, and now hundreds of humpback whales visit each year.”

In the coming weeks, many more humpback whales will return to local waters. They’ll stay to feed on small fish and crustaceans through the fall.

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