The second baby humpback whale to ever be reported in New Zealand waters was spotted in Cook Strait yesterday by a Department of Conservation (DOC) whale research team.
The newborn calf was spotted during the annual DOC Cook Strait whale survey timed during the whales' migration from the Antarctic to South Pacific breeding grounds. It was during this time that the first one was seen in July 2010.
The team had seen rare white humpback whale Migaloo, usually spotted off Australia, just two days before the humpback calf was spotted with its mother.
Whale survey leader Nadine Bott says the team marvelled at how lucky they were to see the newborn, and hopes it travels safely to warm waters.
"The two calves we have seen were likely to have been born prematurely in our waters," she says.
"The former whalers who work with us on the whale survey assure me they never saw newborn calves in their day."
The calf is 3-4 metres long and estimated only several days to a week old because faint foetal folds can still been seen.
"The mother was relatively small and the calf was possibly her first," says Ms Bott.
The annual four-week survey has spotted the highest number of whales in its 12 years - 136 in total with just three days left to run.
The previous highest tally was 106 whales seen in 2012, and Ms Bott says the higher number indicates the New Zealand's population is "bouncing back".
The survey, a DOC partnership with OMV New Zealand, helps to assess humpback whale recovery since commercial whaling ended in New Zealand in 1964.
It also aims to estimate the size of the humpback population in our waters.
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