A popular humpback whale known as “Chompers” has been spotted in the waters off the Southern California coast as she delights fans once again, this time bringing along a new baby calf.
The giant whale was seen in the waters of Newport Beach with the majestic mammal enjoying her time alongside the new calf, according to videos and pictures shared by Newport Landing & Davey’s Locker Whale Watching.
“Today we saw “CHOMPERS” the humpback and her new baby! The pair took a stroll from Laguna to Newport today and stopped occasionally to feed with hundreds of dolphins,” a post on social media read.
The humpback got her name due to the unusual habit she has of lifting her head out of the water and snapping or “chomping” her jaws.
The whale was first catalogued by the Cascadia Research Collective when she was seen feeding in the Santa Barbara channel in 1991. Researchers have documented her whereabouts ever since.
In 2014, the whale watching group said they first spotted Chompers off the coast of Newport Beach.
She’s been seen in the area off the Southern California coast almost every year since 2017, with three of those times bringing along a new calf, the group shared.
Chompers hasn’t been the only famous female humpback delighting whale watchers, with the return of “Chris” recently, spotted along the coastline of Orange County with her new baby calf “Snow Christal.”
“The pair occasionally stopped along their journey to breach and play,” the whale watching group’s post read.
“Chris is especially familiar to Southern California whale watchers because she is also the mother of “Snowflake,” it added, of the calf born in the 2016-2017 season.
The female humpback is also a familiar sight in Newport Beach, with the group noting that not since Snowflake’s sighting in 2017, have they seen the marine mammal with a new calf.
“It has made for a remarkable couple of weeks in Newport Beach, with familiar whales returning to our coastline, this time with the next generation swimming beside them,” the group said.
Adorable photos and clips show the giant whales playing with their offspring as they glide and breach the ocean waters.
It has been quite the show for whale watchers as the average female humpback whale can weigh up to 40 tons and be as long as 50 feet.
While “Chompers” actions make it easy to identify her, whales like her and Chris are identified by looking at pictures of the underside of their tail fin (fluke)” which is as unique as thumbprints are to humans.
The female whales along with other humpbacks have been taking advantage of the productive Southern California feeding grounds, which is the reason for the consistent activity over the last two weeks, according to the group.
