It is in the waters of French Polynesia, from the Austral Islands to Tahiti, that humpback whales come to give birth to their calves, after their incredible odyssey of more than 6,000 kilometers from Antarctica.

Most of the time, they mate during their aquatic exodus, before arriving in our warm waters in early July. But they also sometimes mate off our islands.

The birth usually takes place in September, in Tahiti and Moorea or Rurutu, in the Austral Islands. In Polynesia, the “whale season” lasts about four months (July to November). Throughout this period, which they devote entirely to the birth and protection of their fragile calves, the whales fast.

In November, at the end of the southern winter, they return to Antarctica and reach their final destination after about a month and a half of navigation.

It is only by returning to polar waters after a journey of nearly 12,000 kilometers, that they break their fast by ingesting immense quantities of krill, which allow them to replenish their precious protective fat mass, until the next. season…