Colt  #0319

Colt was born sometime in January or February of 1981.  His mother, Equus, introduced him to Stellwagen Bank later that spring.  He has been coming back every year since.  Colt is the second oldest of at least six calves born to Equus (See Equus's Family Tree).  Colt may prefer the waters off Massachusetts, but his older half brother, Tusk, was more often seen farther to the North in the Gulf of Maine near the Bay of Fundy.

Colt is a favorite among whale watchers.  When he is not stuffing his face with over 3,000 lbs of food a day, he quite often is found showing off.  Colt is a known close-to-boat whale.  He loves to watch passengers watch him.  While he is in a curious mood, he will approach nearby boats.  He swims around them, spyhops next to them to get a better look and sometimes he even splashes them.  One of his favorite games is to dive under the boat .  This makes all the passengers dash to the other side.  Once everyone is there, he dives back under again.  Predictably, everyone runs back too.  Is Colt really playing? It is hard to know exactly what is going on inside the brain of a 50+ ft animal, but he appears to enjoy the experience.

Even though Colt is a "known close-to-boat" whale, it is important to remember that whalewatching vessels follow very strict guidelines (that private boats should also abide).  These guidelines state that no boat should approach a whale any closer than 100ft.  At that distance the boat should be in neutral.  This allows the whale to actively make a free choice whether he wants to come closer to the boat or go about his business.  Remember we have come into their environment.

Colt has two distinguishing features.  First, he has an extremely large, rounded dorsal fin with a white spot on the back.  Then, if you look at the upper corner of the left fluke, you will find a black silhouette of what appears to be a handgun, like the ones manufactured by Colt.