WildView™

December 21, 2020

New Hope

- as seen by -

Martin Brogger @tinchobrogger

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After four months at home during quarantine, I reconnected with nature off the coast of Patagonia.

A newborn southern right whale, Eubalaena australis, came to the surface with its mother. I took this photo as the “little” whitish giant enjoyed its firsts puffs of air. The whale calf’s light pigmentation pattern is not unusual. Mostly white at birth with a splash of rounded black markings, the young whale’s skin gradually changes to a darker gray color as it ages.

These whales spend a lot of time in areas with high commercial and recreational marine traffic and are particularly susceptible to vessel collision. Other potential problems are waste ingestion, such as plastics, and acoustic pollution which may affect their reactions.

Once these ocean giants’ numbers were severely reduced due to whaling. There are signs of recovery like the birth of this little whale.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This photo was chosen as one of the top submissions for Wild View’s Reconnect with Nature assignment. Congratulations!

Nikon D7200

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