Rare Algoa Bay sighting of whale calves

IN a rare sighting in Algoa Bay, four newly born humpback whale calves were photographed with their mothers at the weekend.

Lloyd Edwards, of Port Elizabeth's Raggy Charters – who photographed the calves, their mothers and two southern right whales while taking guests on a tour of the bay on Sunday – said the surprise find was unusual for this area.

"Humpback calves are born between July and October, with a peak in August. It is known that cows can fall pregnant again shortly after giving birth.

"Although some calves are born on the northern migration and have been observed off Durban, this is the first time in 20 years that I have observed newly born calves in Algoa Bay."

Edwards, who was involved in a recent and rare whale disentanglement operation off Nelson Mandela Bay, also pointed out that the young whales were scarred.

"What was really perturbing was how badly scarred the newborn calves were. They looked as bad as the entangled juvenile that we assisted in releasing off Maitlands River on July 28.

"There were heavy lacerations on the skin and blubber that revealed the red meat below. It is not known what exactly caused this but the most likely culprit may have been adult males mating with the females and injuring the calves in the process.

"It also looks like the one received a few bites from cookie cutter sharks and possibly an entanglement in fishing gear." He believed the calves were lucky to be alive.

Edwards said the annual whale migrations which passed Algoa Bay were well under way and that a substantial number of whales were expected to be sighted in the region over the next few months. - Shaun Gillham