Bartolomeo Bove is a shark diver and underwater videographer. He captured spectacular and rare footage of the mating rituals of southern right whales off the coast of Peninsula Valdes, Argentine Patagonia in September 2023. Filmed under Government permit.
Peninsula Valdes is a Patagonian nature reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the coast of Argentina. It is home to an important breeding population of the endangered southern right whales that from June to December migrate from the cold waters of Antarctica to the warm and protected waters of the Peninsula to meet other whales, mate, give birth and take care of their calves. At the beginning of September 2023, I traveled to this untamed area renowned for its unique wildlife to film the southern right whales and I witnessed one of nature's greatest events: the whales mating ritual, one of the most impressive manifestations of nature that I have ever had the privilege to see. With more than 1.300 specimens visiting the area annually Peninsula Valdes contains the globally most important breeding grounds of the Southern Right Whale, a species that had severely suffered from commercial whaling.
Their mating system is polyandrous, meaning that several males participate in mating with one female.
Mating in the sea can be tricky. It has all to do with male competition. When the female right whale is ready to mate multiple males may jostle alongside her.
As shown in the video the female is surrounded by two ardent males. She is not yet ready to mate and rolls over on her back to keep her genital region away from her suitors. While the female is hovering belly up the males seem to work in coordination to achieve copulation. Avoiding mating though is not an easy task when a male is as formidably equipped as a right whale. With a body weight that can exceed 60 tons, male right whales have one of the largest penises in nature, a 12 foot (4 meters) long and highly mobile penis, a quarter of their body length. After a while the female has changed her mind, she rights herself and dives down leaving the surface. She is now ready to mate. The female can copulate with one or several males on the same day. Male right whales have gigantic testicles, the largest in the animal kingdom. They weigh a ton and produce gallons of sperm. One coupling can flush out whatever preceded it so it may not be the first male who succeeded in copulating who becomes the father. It will be the last. The females that mated in the previous season approach the coasts of Peninsula Valdes, that are protected from the wind and storms, to give birth to their young. The gestation period of the whale calf is estimated between 12 and 13 months and births usually occur between the months of July and October.