THE young whale known as “Mini Migaloo” put in a spectacular appearance off Narooma as he cruised south with his mother on Thursday.
The juvenile, pure white humpback whale was last seen swimming past Bondi last Sunday, where he was given the name in honour of the original extremely rare white while – Migaloo.
❏ Click here to check out the photo gallery of the white whale jumping for joy!
Whether the baby whale is related to Migaloo could only be proved by DNA testing but marine mammal experts say he or she is a true albino, a rare genetic trait that happens spontaneously rather than necessarily being passed down from parents.
Narooma Charters owner operator Darryl Stuart was alerted the white whale’s appearance off Narooma by members of the Narooma Dalmeny Bushwalkers who spotted from the Narooma headland where they were doing their regular walk.
They had the foresight to call Mr Stuart and it payed off as he immediately came down to the wharf where he picked up the bushwalkers and headed off on the charter boat “Dreamtime”.
It was not far before they came across the pair of whales and while the normally marked mother swam south in a slow restrained manner, as mothers do, the young, brilliant white whale was going off continuously jumping as the spectators watched from a safe distance.
“What a fantastic day,” Mr Stuart wrote on his website. “We first saw Mini Migaloo from the headland at Narooma and had to get a closer look.
“We left the wharf at 3pm and found ‘Mini Migaloo’ and mother 500 metres from the entrance to Narooma.
“With our boat ‘Dreamtime’ just ticking along slowly, little ‘Mini Migaloo’ started performing for us, I lost count of the number of times it breached but I managed to take more than 400 photos.
“Truly a memorable experience. Having seen Migaloo 17 years ago and going to every pod of whales we could since then to get another look, today made up for the wait.”
A white whale calf was spotted off the Whitsunday coast around the end of September when it was dubbed “Son of Migaloo”.
Meanwhile, the original adult Migaloo was spotted swimming past Cape Bay last week and is now expected have swum past Narooma ahead of Migaloo junior.
Mr Stuart said yesterday’s baby whale appeared very young, most likely born this season. He also managed a couple of photographs of the mother’s tail, which he has sent to whale researchers for identification.
“He was totally white and I could not spot any dark markings. His eye was pink as was the inside of his mouth.”
National Parks marine fauna coordinator Geoff Ross said the young whale appeared to be truly “amelanistic” or albino, which while extremely rare, could happen spontaneously and so he or she may not be related to Migaloo.
The mother also had some distinctive markings or scars just behind her dorsal fin.
In another recent whale spotting incident, Mr Stuart and his passengers came across a badly damaged whale swimming past Narooma possibly the victim of a ship strike.
Right now is peak whale watching whale season with a steady stream of whales passing Narooma.
“We did have a slow start to the season, but with this other and other sightings things are starting really improve with sightings of up to four five pods each trip now. And plenty of active bubs coming down with their mothers.”
Click here to go to the Narooma Charters website
A letter from a grateful whale watcher
LAST Thursday driving around the coast at Dalmeny, after a great walk with Dalmeny Narooma Bushwalkers at Comans Mine, my friend Jo and I stopped after seeing a whale blow.
Jo said to me, "I see something white next to the humpback whale, maybe it is the white calf that was sighted near Bondi last Sunday".
We then lost sight of the whale and headed to Kianga Reef Beach headland and as we were driving up to the headland the whale calf breached out of the water.
We screamed "It's white".
Not believing what we were seeing we watched for a while, taking a photo or two and quickly decided to ring Darryl of Narooma Charters.
He answered saying he was on the headland near the Coastal Patrol, also looking for the white whale calf.
Darryl asked: "Would you like to come out with me and have a closer look?”
Naturally we said "Yes!" and dashed down to the wharf.
On the way out across the bar the white calf breached again right in front of the entrance.
For nearly two hours we watched this beautiful calf, looking like white porcelain alongside his dark mother.
Is he or she Mini Migaloo or Migaloo Jr. as the Migaloo website suggests?
Jo and Roland Jean-Mairet and I, Jan Thomas, want to thank Darryl from Narooma Charters for giving us an opportunity to see one of the wonders of nature at her best.
It certainly turned out a day to be remembered, leaving for a bushwalk at 8.30am and returning after a whale watch at 6pm.
Jo said last week, "We must watch out for the white calf" and I said, "Yes of course", not truly believing that we would even catch a glimpse. Show's how wrong you can be sometimes…
Jan Thomas
Narooma
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