Iconic humpback whale ‘Big Mama’ has returned to the Salish Sea with a splash.
Swimming roughly 3,000 miles from Hawaii, where she migrates for the winter, the whale was seen near B.C.’s Moresby Island by Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) member company Maya’s Legacy on Monday (May 4).
Hailed by PWWA for playing a key role in the recovery of Salish Sea humpback whales, Big Mama has been documented returning to the Salish Sea almost every year for nearly three decades.
“Simply put, she’s the whale who started it all,” said PWWA’s executive director Erin Gless in a news release. “This time of year is always exciting as we welcome the whales back, but Big Mama’s return merits extra celebration.”
Once targeted by commercial whalers, humpback whales disappeared from the Salish Sea by the early 1900s. Despite the end of commercial whaling in 1966, sightings of humpback whales in the Salish Sea remained rare and sporadic for decades.
That trend began to change in 1997 after Big Mama was photographed near Victoria by Mark Malleson, a Prince of Whales captain.
Big Mama was photographed with her first known calf, BCX1057 ‘Divot’, in 2003. Since then, she has had eight known calves in total, including her most recent born in 2025. Some of those calves have gone on to birth Big Mama’s grandcalves.
Big Mama’s lineage includes at least 20 whales, estimates PWWA.
Humpback whales are a migratory species.
They feed in cooler waters during the spring, summer, and fall and travel to warmer locations like Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America to breed or give birth in winter.
Cruising up the coast behind Big Mama are many more humpback whales, who will join her in B.C. waters in the coming months, where they’ll feed on small fish and crustaceans through the fall.
PWWA is reminding all boaters to be vigilant and maintain at least 100 metres distance from humpback whales – 200 metres if they are resting or with a calf.
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