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A rare sighting of a humpback whale and her calf off the coast of Christchurch has been captured on film.
South New Brighton resident Hugo Kristinsson, 59, was walking along New Brighton beach when he spotted what appeared to be a mother humpback whale and her calf about 200 yards from New Brighton Pier around noon Thursday.
It was the first time Kristinsson had experienced such a sighting in the 29 years that he had lived in the coastal suburb.
“It was fascinating and really uplifting. It gives people something to smile about. “
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The whales were last seen traveling south of New Brighton on Thursday afternoon, Kristinsson said.
Jan Everett
Two whales, believed to be humpbacks, were spotted near New Brighton Pier around noon Thursday.
The sighting comes after a juvenile humpback whale was spotted at the entrance to Akaroa harbor on May 20.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) website states that there are six populations of humpback whales in the southern hemisphere, as defined by their summer foraging areas in Antarctica.
Whales visit New Zealand’s coastal waters as they migrate between summer feeding grounds in Antarctica and winter calving and nursery grounds in tropical or near-tropical waters.
Jan Everett
There are six populations of humpback whales in the southern hemisphere and they are defined by their summer foraging areas in Antarctica.
They travel primarily along the east coast of the South Island and through the Cook Strait during the winter, then return along the West Coast during the spring.
Oceania’s humpback whale population was classified in 2008 as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
According to the DOC’s website, a newborn humpback whale is 4-5 meters tall and an adult adult can reach 15 meters.
