For the first time ever, an infant Blue Whale has been caught on film. The expedition, which included Bruce Mate from the OSU Marine Mammal Institute, was exploring a spot of the coast of Costa Rica called the “Dome”. This footage proves that The Dome is a birthing ground for Blue Whales.
From National Geographic:
March 4, 2009â€”A baby blue whale (shown with photographer) filmed off Costa Rica may be the first to have been photographed underwater and adds to evidence that a blue whale hot spot in the Pacific Ocean is a birthing ground for the endangered species.
During a January 2008 expedition to the “Dome”â€”a warm-water region that draws blue whales from hundreds of miles awayâ€”the researchers had begun to lose hope of finding a calf. Then two telltale spouts began erupting at the sea surface.
“Oh, tell me that one of them is a small blow, please,” Bruce Mate, of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University, says in the documentary.
Check out the excellent video:
Thanks to National Geographic for the wonderful content! Congrats to Bruce Mate for the huge find!!