For the first time in history, the birth of a humpback whale has been recorded, a milestone in marine biology and documentary filmmakers achieved with the tireless work of a group of scientists and filmmakers from National Geographic in Lahaina (Hawaii).
Rachel Cartwright, whale researcher at the Keiki Kohola Project, explained that they had been waiting “25 years” for this moment and stressed that “a scene like this had never been seen” in the sea.
A few weeks ago, a research vessel led by Cartwright encountered a pod of humpback whales and one of the crew dove to film them, finding a small fin protruding from the female.
“At that moment, we knew we had a possible birth. We had people in the water until sunset,” getting to the point that it was starting to get dark and Cartwright decided to send a drone to record and make history.
When reviewing the images returning on board, Cartwright could not believe what she saw: “What we saw in the recording was a large spurt of blood. Then, two seconds later, we finally saw a baby,” the scientist explains excitedly.
For his part, field director Paul Satchell explains that “we knew it was a unique opportunity to capture a precious moment and so the team worked tirelessly to follow and film the group.”
