Help with ID (mother and calf, South of Chile)
Posted by RC8n@reddit | whales | View on Reddit | 6 comments
I saw these mother and calf around 1km away from my ship, perhaps a bit further away. The video must be something like 14x zoomed in.
We were in the northernmost part of Golfo de Corcovado, in Chile. While someone else was taking the video I was watching through binoculars and could not make out a clear fin.
The mother looked very large and very long. The blows were quite strong (keep in mind the video was taken from very far away).
Sure_Turnip_6800@reddit
Based on surfacing behaviour and colouration, I’d say blue whale. Can’t confirm whether there’s a calf though
RC8n@reddit (OP)
Thank you! There was definitely a calf. I was watching them with binoculars and got to see them for a while longer both before and after the video. It appears they were blues, indeed :)
benbugman@reddit
It’s hard to tell given the video quality but the coloration and lack of easily seen dorsal fin is pointing me towards a blue whale. The area around the Golfo de Corcovado is an important feeding spot for many of the roughly 600 members of the Chilean blue whales subspecies. source
RC8n@reddit (OP)
Thank you! The video in your source is really helpful, actually. The mother and calf shown look very similar to what I saw through the binoculars. The colours, blows, and lack of prominent fins in the video you linked also seem consistent with the recording we made (at least to my relatively untrained eye).
Caribbean-Winter@reddit
This might help:
TeTrodoToxin4@reddit
Possibly a fin whale? Hard to see the dorsal in this clip.