Wednesday 14 July 2021:
Our whale watching guests were treated to something very rarely seen whilst out whale watching. In fact, this sight is so rare, that our skipper Mark, known to most as Roundy, has never seen this in 20 yrs on the seas. Sighting something quite unsual, he pulled the boat up in a hurry as we were heading home exclaiming “What’s that?”As we neared the big bob floating on the surface, our guests were trying to work out what it was that they were seeing? Then our decky on the day, John, said to Roundy “I think it might be afterbirth? Perhaps there has been a new calf born very recently around here and the sharks have not yet come in to feed on the placenta?”So Mark, consulted with Siri (as you do) and Siri instantly displayed images online identifying what we had infront of us. In an online article referring to a similar sighting, it says “Humpback whale placenta would perhaps be the next best evidence of the birthing process taking place,” aside from documenting an actual birth, Pacific Whale Foundation representatives wrote. “Scientists infer that the placenta is easily dislodged after the calf is born, and then simply floats away,” they added. The following is a photos by our regular guest Lynda.