'Big Momma' humpback returns to Salish Sea with eighth known calf
Maybe a giant swarm of krill caught her attention, maybe it was a huge school of baby herring. Whatever the reason, she was one of the first humpbacks sighted in inland waters, off Victoria, since the early 1900s, the executive director of Pacific Whale Watch Association, said.
On Wednesday, May 21 she was spotted again, this time with her newest calf in tow.
'She's been returning ever since 1997, and now has at least eight calves, seven grandcalves, and four great-grandcalves,' said Erin Gless, Anacortes-based executive director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association.
'She's widely beloved for playing a key role in the recovery of local humpbacks.
'We're always eager to see who the first calf of the season will be and we're always anxious waiting for Big Momma's return. This year we got to celebrate both happy occasions at once!'
Big Momma and her calf were spotted Wednesday in Haro Strait, northeast of Sidney Island, followed by several more sightings the next day.
The calf, Gless estimates, is four or five months old, and stayed close to mom through every sighting.
'This is actually very, very early in the season, that's why it's kind of a big deal that this is the first baby (spotted), they'll be coming in all through the summer and they'll stay, usually, through October and November.'
Pacific Ocean humpbacks spend their cold months in warmer climes, where they mate and the females give birth, then head north as far as Alaska, and south as far as Antarctica to raise their calves and feed.
Adult humpbacks weigh up to 40 tonnes and grow to 18 metres long, with tails as wide as 5.5 metres, and they migrate as far as any mammal on the planet — Hawaii to Victoria is almost 5,000 kilometres one way and takes five to six weeks.
Brett Soberg first saw Big Momma in 2003, off Vancouver Island's Sheringham Point and also with a calf.
'That was the first humpback I'd ever seen,' Soberg, who co-owns Eagle Wing and Wildlife Tours in Victoria, said. 'I've been in this industry since '97, so that was an exciting day for me.'
When the passengers on his tours see Big Momma, he said, they are awed but also inspired to learn that each humpback has a unique personality, its own feeding technique, and feelings.
'Personally, the emotional connection and the power of the emotional connection is offering details about the individual animal as an individual, a unique personality, unique set of skills,' he said. 'When you share that, people are, I think, kind of flabbergasted a little bit.
'They don't realize the complexity of the personality of these animals, they all have personalities. That's the beautiful thing.'
Big Momma, he says, looks healthy, happy and well fed.
'She's delightful, just one of those animals that has a really nice disposition and personality, and she is a fantastic mom, so she she's found a really good humpback-whale rhythm.'
But more than that, she's been one of the keys to Pacific humpbacks increasing their population since commercial whaling was banned in 1967.
It's estimated the humpback population in the Pacific fell to below 1,000 by the time whaling was outlawed. And, of course, none had visited the Salish Sea in decades before that.
Today, Gless said there are probably about 25,000 humpbacks in the North Pacific, with about 400 or so coming to the Salish Sea to feed each summer and fall.
'Big Momma is a perfect example of how important a single whale can be to a population,' she said, pointing to the 19 calves, grandcalves and great-grandcalves of hers.
There's no way of knowing how old Big Momma is, but humpbacks can live to be 80 or 90, and females do not undergo menopause so there may be many more of the whale's descendants yet to come.
It's a perilous journey from Hawaii, especially with a newborn calf, Gless said: Big Momma has to swim slowly so her calf can keep up, and manoeuvre around fishing gear and commercial shipping traffic.
'And they do have a natural predator so they're trying to dodge orcas on the way, too,' Gless said.'We're thrilled that she's back every year.
'Waiting for her, we get really anxious, so it's a weight off our shoulders when she gets spotted again.'
gordmcintyre@postmedia.com
x.com/gordmcintyre
Humpback comes within paddle length of startled kayakers in B.C.
Four-day rescue operation freed a humpback whale off northern B.C.: DFO
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Beyond books: The varied, and perhaps unexpected, free offerings at the library
Janelle Powell and her husband went to their local library branch for an electric saw and grabbed a pasta maker while they were at it. The Markham, Ont., couple were contemplating buying the power tool for a one-off home reno project, but didn't think they would use it again. So to the library they went. "We were doing that checkout process (and) I noticed that they had a pasta maker," said Powell, who works in marketing and writes online about various "life hacks" on the side. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm borrowing this.'" After two weeks whipping up ravioli and other pasta shapes, Powell asked herself whether she wanted to buy her own machine. It was fun, but she concluded "probably not." Libraries have far more to offer than books and hushed spaces. Sometimes you have to ask or dig around, but a library card can get you a wide array of tools, gadgets, resources and services at no cost. For littles From drop-in storytimes to play areas with a rotating selection of toys, libraries can be a haven for parents looking to save cash — and their sanity — as they try to keep their kids occupied. "We see some of the same families and children repeatedly every single day," said Barb Gillard, executive director of visitor experience at the Calgary Public Library. There are several early learning centres at branches across the city. One features a decommissioned fire engine where kids can push buttons to make the lights go, listen to recordings of pretend emergency calls and don mini firefighter gear. Another has a real-life helicopter. For Powell, checking out video games at the Markham library has been a better option than shelling out $80 a pop for new ones her nine-year-old quickly beats. The toy library has also been a godsend, allowing her to grab a bag for a week and rotate them out before her two-year-old loses interest. "I wish I knew about it before I had my second son because you spend so much on toys and trying to entertain your kids and they get bored of them so quickly." For workers and job seekers The Vancouver Public Library has been seeing more people use its spaces for remote work post-pandemic, said director of information technology and collections Kay Cahill. "There's no price of admission. You don't have to go and keep buying cups of coffee to feel like you can stay," she said, adding the library is also thinking about adding soundproof pods so people can take video calls in privacy. Libraries generally have plentiful power plugs, good wireless networks, meeting rooms and some free printing available. Computers available to borrow often come preloaded with software that would otherwise carry a hefty subscription price. For creators and art lovers Audio-visual equipment, recording suites, editing software and green-screen studios are some of the offerings your city's library may have. The Toronto Public Library has a dozen Digital Innovation Hubs spread across the city, with various software programs, specialized equipment and courses. A 3D printer can be used for a minimal fee. "Instead of having to go out and buy something or pay for a service or a course, you now have the resources to potentially do it yourself," said Natalie Colaiacovo, the Toronto library's manager of innovation services. "Recently I had a customer reach out to me who was experiencing homelessness and she mentioned that she was using our graphic design tablet and the software in the Digital Innovation Hub to help her achieve her goal of self-publishing a children's book." The North York branch has a fabrication studio with sewing machines, a serger, embroidery machine, heat press, vinyl cutter and button maker. The Vancouver library runs in-demand clothes-mending courses. Many libraries have musical instruments that can be checked out. "If you don't want to invest in the instrument, if you're not sure if it's something you're going to enjoy, you can borrow it for a short amount of time to try it out," said Gillard, in Calgary. The Vancouver library was flooded with interest the day it opened its instrument-lending program, recalled Cahill. "Literally everything went out except for one left-handed guitar," she said. Some libraries have passes to local museums and other attractions. And of course, there are films available to stream through Kanopy, ebooks, audiobooks and magazines through Libby and thousands of newspapers from around the world through Press Reader. Powell figures she's saved thousands with her library card. She said she was deluged with comments after she posted a video chronicling her foray into pasta-making, incredulous that the machine could be borrowed from the library. "It just kind of dawned on me that most people don't realize the library allows you to borrow things beyond books," she said. "It's evolved so much past that." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025. Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Fascinating Reason Women Use Their ‘HR Voice' To Reject You
When a date doesn't go well, men will often accuse women of adopting an 'HR voice' — the polite, corporate way some women will text when they are done with dating you. Suddenly, a flirtatious text thread starts sounding like a meeting with human resources. And although men go to social media to joke and complain about this formal shift, the women who do or encourage this say it's the kinder response. 'I'm the queen of a polite termination text,' said Emily Durham, a Toronto-based career coach and former recruiter who uses HR-speak when rejecting men she's gone on a few dates with. 'In times of stress, I default to speaking like I'm someone's human resources manager, and that's just how I am.' What she does might sound similar to anyone who's had to hear hard news during a performance review. 'I'll use the sandwich method, which is [to] thank them for their time, compliment a character trait that I genuinely enjoy about them. Tell them it doesn't feel like the right connection for me right now,' she recalled. 'If it feels warranted to deliver feedback, for example, like because ... we work opposite hours or something like that, feel free to pop it in. ... And then like, 'Wishing you all the best.'' Why 'HR voice' can actually be a kinder, safer way to reject someone you've dated. Durham defends the 'HR voice' for women and anyone who is queer or trans who are more likely to experience violence while dating. 'In the beginning of dating, you use this HR-speak to mitigate risk. You don't really know who you're dealing with yet, but you still want to balance being respectful,' she said. Sex and dating coach Myisha Battle, author of 'This Is Supposed to Be Fun,' agreed with this use of HR voice, noting, 'If you expect that the person you're breaking up with will have an outsized response or you know them to be toxic or abusive, HR voice can be the best way to get your point across while protecting yourself.' 'People use 'HR voice' to soften the blow of emotionally charged and difficult conversations like breakups,' Battle said. 'We know that it's not kind to say to someone, 'I just don't want to date you anymore.' So people fall back on language that feels more clinical and sterile and devoid of emotion.' There is no easy way to deliver the message that your connection, however short, has fizzled out, but an 'HR voice' text can at least firmly but gently let a person know it's over. 'It is coming from a place of having respect for the other person, like setting them free back into the dating universe,' Durham said. It may also be kinder to send this type of message because it focuses on how you feel and is not a reflection of who your date is. 'I think a lot of people lean on these HR-safe termination messages because it centers more how that connection feels for you versus who that person is,' Durham said. Dating and relationship coach Ali Jackson said she posts text templates of how to reject people and has been accused of perpetuating an 'HR voice.' When she has done it, her wording follows the script of ''Hey, I've really enjoyed getting to know you, but after thinking about it, I don't feel the romantic connection that I'm looking for. But I wish you all the best.' I sent that text countless times,' she said. When people have critiqued her scripts as robotic and generic, 'My response is always like, 'Feel free to make it your own,'' she said. 'For me, that type of text message is actually pretty authentic.' Of course, 'HR voice' is better-suited for early dating than long-term relationships. If a connection lasts beyond one or two dates, Durham said she will call to end things with someone. 'I do think it is context dependent,' Jackson said. 'If I was going to break up with my boyfriend right now, I certainly would not be sending him that text message.' If you have been dating for more than a couple of months, Jackson recommends doing a phone call, at the very least. That way, if you have been emotionally vulnerable with someone, the other person deserves a heartfelt message you cannot copy-paste. Accusations of 'HR voice' might be a gendered idea. Although women get called out for adopting an HR voice, they aren't the only people to default to corporate, generic responses when dealing with thorny emotions or rejection. 'I don't think that 'HR voice' is exclusive to women. I think that women tend to get their tone policed more than men, though,' Battle said. Rejection texts that sound like HR may sting, but it's better than ghosting when someone asks for a third date. Some form of acknowledgment is welcomed, regardless of who you are. 'I think if a woman gets that response, she is so happy that this man has communicated his feelings, even if it sucks. She's not policing his language,' Jackson said. 'I've received the same messages from men, and I've never been like, 'Oh, it's corporate speak.' I was like, 'Oh, this is a direct, clear, empathetic communicator,'' Durham said. 'But when I have shared my termination texts, I'll get DMs [direct messages] from people being like, 'Oh my God, you're so stuffy.' I'm like, 'Am I? Or am I just not sugarcoating?'' Telling someone you don't want to date them is hard, no matter how you phrase it, but corporate language at least signals you're trying to soften the blunt edge of rejection. 'Hope you find what you're looking for' and 'Wish you all the best' may sound copy-pasted, but they're also an appropriate way to end an early connection. When you get it, the message is clear: your contract has ended; you're being dismissed. 'I understand why people don't like it; at the same time, I'm not sure that you're ever going to like that text,' Jackson said. Related... Is This The Worst 1-Word Text Message You Can Possibly Send? These Jobs Will Get You More Matches On Dating Apps. But Should They? 8 Tips For Working Through A Hard, Sad Breakup Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kugaaruk dump fire extinguished
The fire escalated during the last week of July. Reinforcements including three firefighters from Iqaluit and a government of Nunavut fire marshall, were sent to help.
