Lab tests confirmed a humpback mother and calf off Camarones

Genetic tests confirmed a humpback whale mother and her male calf in Patagonia Azul Provincial Park, off Camarones. LU17 in Chubut reported the result on October 31, 2026. Residents had already named the calf Huellita. Lucas Beltramino of Proyecto Patagonia Azul said the team, out looking for whales in October of the previous year, first saw two animals and managed only a photo of a dorsal fin. Five days later they found three whales together. A drone showed one was about half the size of the adults and stayed with a female, who kept a known adult male away.

Biopsies from all three animals went to a lab. Beltramino said the confirmation arrived a few days before the report, and that it is the first record of a mother and calf in the park. The station said the park had no historical record of seasonal use by this species. The sheltered bays are part of why a calf might rest there. The news is the lab result tying this calf to his mother. It does not say he was born in the park, and it does not estimate how many humpbacks use the coast.