Humpback Whale Mother and Calf

Filmed march 4, 2021 off the coast of Napili, Maui (West Maui). The bond between a mother and calf is a close one. Calves rely on their mothers for food and protection and are rarely seen far away from them. They accompany their mothers across the North Pacific to distant feeding grounds and it is not until a year after their birth, either on their migration back to the breeding grounds or once arrived, that the maternal bond is broken between the mother and now juvenile whale. This mother gave birth to this calf within weeks of this filming.