Happy Mother’s Day, Spoon!

On May 9th, Spoon was spotted back on Stellwagen Bank with her new calf.

The day before Mother’s Day started off bleak and foggy – not a typically great whale watching day. However, our partners at 7 Seas Whale Watch managed to work their way through the fog and found three humpbacks – two mature females and a young calf. Capt. Jay identified the two females as Spoon and Mars. Based on interactions and similar fluke patterns, it was determined that the new male calf belonged to Spoon and Mars was acting as an “escort.” We’ll have to wait awhile longer for Spoon’s new calf to be named, but we are ecstatic to wish Spoon a happy Mother’s Day.

Spoon and Mars are two of the five humpback whale matriarchs that we previously offered in our whale adoption program. First sighted in 1977 and 1979  respectively, Spoon and Mars have been lighting up whale watches for years.
Spoon, one of the largest humpbacks in the population, was given her name  due to a large, spoon-shaped white spot on her fluke, a trait she seems to have passed on to her new calf.
Mars has the distinction of having more calves than any of the other whales we regularly see. As an “escort” for Spoon and her calf, it is reasonable to believe that she is giving the new mom a helping hand.

Mars and Spoon are no longer available for adoption, but Etch-a-Sketch, Salt and Owl are. If you are interested in adopting one of these whales, you can adopt through Ocean Alliance’s whale adoption program
Stay tuned for more updates from 7 Seas Whale Watches!
 

All Photos provided by 7 Seas Whale Watch