Today, on our whale-watching trip, we witnessed something I never would have thought we would.
We were with a group of orcas, mostly juveniles and females.
They seemed to be feeding actively.
Sometimes we saw a female accelerate on the surface, but I thought she was about to jump. Later, it turned out to be something else (probably a reaction to her contractions…).
We were floating calmly and watching the feeding, when all of a sudden, close to the boat, there was blood spilling and splashing everywhere….
At first, I had no idea what was going on.
A moment later, I saw a little head pop above water…
As it turned out, a female gave birth right next to us ❤
We saw the very last push with the baby’s arrival in the world ❤
After the whole group gathered, they became extremely active and formed a protective circle around the calf.
They seemed quite energetic around the calf. First, I was not sure if it was alive. It looked like they pushed it very hard above the surface. We observed them carrying the calf on their back and holding it above water for air.
Luckily, the Norwegian Orca Survey was around, and they flew a drone, which helped us understand that the calf is alive.
We were relieved and thrilled. We just witnessed the birth of an orca calf!!! I still can’t believe it ❤
You can see that the newborn’s dorsal fin was still bent as it was in the female’s womb.
It was so amazing to watch something like this in the wild, the celebration that went on within the group was astonishing… ❤
We left the scene shortly after, and Norwegian Orca Survey stayed with the group to ensure their safety.
We wish this little baby a long life ❤
This is something we have never seen and probably never will again.
These moments will stay in our hearts forever ❤
Enjoy!
-Krisztina
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