Astonishingly Rare Footage of a Fin Whale with TWO Calves!

Apr 22, 2026
It's hard to put into words just how rare this footage is! As far as we know, there has never been viable twins born to a baleen whale. The energy demand and cost of rearing just one giant infant can push female whales to the brink of starvation. To raise two at once would likely be impossible...until proved otherwise!

We don’t know much about the social dynamics of fin whales in this population, but this is certainly the first time I have witnessed two fin whale calves around a single adult female. Fin whale calves are often given the freedom to roam up to a mile away from their mothers, so my best guess is that one of these young whales saw the other young whale and decided to stop by for a “play date”.

Other possibilities certainly exist, and it would be fascinating to know if the unseen fin whale mother(assuming there was one) had any sort of communication or connection with the fin whale mother in this sequence. A version of babysitting and group child-raising exists in many toothed whale species, but is not something that’s been recognized in baleen whales like these fin whales!

This footage was taken with Gone Whale Watching in San Diego on April 20th, 2026 by Captain Domenic Biagini

www.gonewhalewatching.com
Witness rarely seen interactions between a fin whale and a pair of calves in the open ocean. This footage captures the daily life of these marine giants as adults teach the next generation how to hunt and gather essential krill during the summer season.
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Domenic Biagini
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