Another Update on Aria the Whale

By Safina Center Fellow Katlyn Taylor

Aria the humpback whale’s fluke in 2023. it has gained new marks in the past year. ©Katlyn Taylor

For those of you that have been following this two-year story of Fran and her calf Aria, there is more good news! Aria was once again seen in her feeding ground in Monterey Bay, CA this month (August 2024). Despite losing her mom, Fran, at a very young age, Aria has returned to her feeding grounds during the past two summers in California.

Whales tend to exhibit a high site fidelity to feeding grounds and breeding grounds. They go where their mom showed them to go, and as long as they continue to be successful in those places, they keep using them. Humpback whales have been well-documented breaking from their normal patterns, but in general they have habits and preferred places they visit. Aria is a third generation Monterey Bay whale; her mother and grandmother were often seen here. The hope is that she will continue to use this area as she ages.

Aria’s sightings in Monterey Bay over the years, via HappyWhale's database. ©HappyWhale

Aria has quite large gaps in her sighting history over time, which is typical for a whale her age in this area. Some parts of the West Coast of North America are very well covered by whale watching fleets, while others are very underreported. She seems to wander into Monterey Bay at some point during the feeding season, but then moves on to areas with less sighting coverage for most of the year. She is still very young and may not migrate south for breeding, or if she does, she will likely only spend a short amount of time in the breeding grounds before leaving again.

One photo has surfaced of Aria as a very young calf from the breeding grounds in Mexico from 2022. Older photos help fill in the gaps of the story of a whale. While Aria may not have been born in the Nayarit area, she was seen in February of 2022 with her mom there. Fran had been seen as far south as Guerrero over the years. So, she was very likely born in Mexican waters and this older photo, combined with photos of her mom, helps us tell that part of her story.

Since her first sighting (4/16/23) after losing her mom in 2022, Aria has been reported in Happywhale 14 additional times in 2023 and 2024. ©HappyWhale

Every new sighting of Aria is a cause for celebration and a renewed feeling of hope. A whale who has survived tragedy can serve as our inspiration to make our oceans a safer place. There are several projects underway to gather data to inform solutions and test equipment to minimize ship strike and entanglement in California waters.

If you want to stay updated via Happywhale about Aria, you can follow her profile and get email updates. Or if this story has inspired you to upload your older whale photos from anywhere in the world, you can submit them to Happywhale at any time.