Tag: Pectoral Slapping

Scarborough whale watching it was today as just off Scarborough Beach a mother and her calf perfectly timed one of the most spectacular and exciting surface behaviours… a double breach! Firstly sighting large amounts of white water landing next to an enormous ship we could see the female breaching and as we approached the area her calf decided to begin breaching also. All went quiet for a few moments before both mother and calf breached together and what a beautiful sight it was, a double breach is one of the surface activities that is not always regularly sighted throughout the season. Watching as the female continued to breach her way towards us and her calf excitedly joined in with peduncle and fluke slapping. The female was encouraging her calf to practice The Language of the Whales™ and we were enjoying every moment of her fascinating lesson with her beautiful calf.

The female then rolled onto her side and began teaching pectoral fin slapping to her calf but he was more interested in practicing his tail slaps right alongside mum. Her enormous five meter, one ton pec fin hit the surface creating a loud “whack” sound before being gracefully lifted back up and repeating the process. The female was really getting into her groove and continued to breach and pec slap, she almost seemed to be flirting with us slightly and perhaps was in search of an escort. Once again the ocean went still and we waited for a breach but no one was expecting what was to happen next as forty five tonnes broke the surface only meters in front of our bow, she had deliberately swam towards us and decided to have a really good look by coming in for an extraordinarily close breach! A spectacular moment to be so close to a female who was as interested in us as we were of her and her calf. Scarborough whale watching was filled with much excitement today and joy to experience such energetic displays from a mature female and her lovely calf living the Humpback life, how fantastic!

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Rottnest whale watching with the Humpback Whales today as we sighted relaxed mothers and calves along with Captain Hook, the large male sighted on our previous tours competition pod who came over to check out some powerful surface activity. Spending the beginning of our morning with the numerous mothers and their babies resting in the glassy conditions as some were feeding while one particular mother and calf who were travelling with an escort swam straight towards and underneath us. The reason why, as we looked behind us, was because of two large adults moving towards us. Looking carefully we quickly recognised Captain Hook who was one of the large males competing for a female on Wednesday morning. Seeming to recognise us well before we recognised him he cruised on over with his mate before continuing towards Rottnest Island on what was a peaceful morning Rottnest whale watching as our Humpback took the time to prepare for the next leg of their journey.

Energy and environment can change in an instant when Rottnest whale watching and it was one of our guests who made a very good spot behind us of surface activity beginning in a hurry! Two large adults launched themselves skywards in enormous peduncle slaps and inverted fluke slapping with much intensity. Although the beginning of this surface activity began naturally, unfortunately a recreational vessel sighted the activity and approached the pod at speed. The pods demeanour changed from natural behaviour to reactive, aggressive behaviour as they continued to tail slap vigorously to warn the vessel not to approach. Much to everyones disappointment the vessel did not slow but instead continued to approach the pod at speed until they were so close the white water from the fluke slap was hitting their bow. The pod was now startled and submerged quickly, now not focusing on the second pod who was approaching them but instead keeping below the surface and away from the recreational vessel who had invaded their reactionary distance and ignored their warning behaviour.

We waited patiently as we knew that the size of these adults meant they would be able to hold their breath for a very long time and it wasn’t until the recreational vessel departed the area ten minutes later that they resurfaced. The pod was now relaxed again as their personal space was back and as we watched the second pod finally join the surface active whales we recognised Captain Hook and he was leading his new mates directly towards us! They then proceeded to swim below us before surfacing on the other side as they curiously investigated our vessel. A perfect example for our guests today the importance of understanding how sound and respect are vital in ensuring our whales feel relaxed and we are able to observe natural behaviour when with them. Education is key to our future with whales and ingraining in our society a respect towards wildlife and their space to ensure a fantastic future  for both humans and whales, if you give whales your time they will give you theirs.

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Perth Whales were busy today as they communicated The Language of the Whales™ in spectacular fashion. A male escort was trying his best to defend and show off to his female by breaching, peduncle slapping and continuos pec slaps. The only problem was that this female had a calf with her and her little one was her top priority. The high energy this male was producing through his surface activity lifted the energy levels of all the pods around us and everywhere we looked we could sight breaching and peduncle slaps. A few more male escorts were around this morning travelling with the mother and calf pods which increased energy levels throughout the area and encouraged the calves to join in to the conversation. Mini versions of the breaching and peduncle slaps could be seen as the calves gave it their all as they copied the males around them and learnt from some older role models.

The boisterous male escort moved in towards our vessel and as he breached right on our bow we could clearly see the Perth skyline as a beautiful backdrop to this marvellous spectacle. Perth Whales are comfortable in their environment and use the sheltered and protected waters found off the Perth coastline as resting and socialising grounds. Today was a perfect example of just how busy it can get when the males start talking to each other and bring a confidence to the resting grounds that the calves respond towards by making a bit of noise and practicing their surface activity as well. The mother and calf pods understand that when the males are around there is extra protection from predators such as sharks and orca with the male Humpbacks often assisting to keep calves safe. Fascinating to sight the difference our male Humpbacks bring whenever they arrive in town!

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The Humpback Whale kindy grounds were busy this morning as mothers and calves gathered to rest and socialise in the calm conditions. Our first pod sighted was of two mothers and calves playing and the calves were practicing some pectoral fin slapping which they had down pat perfectly. Yet another three mothers and calves were socialising further up ahead and as we observed their interaction it wasn’t long before two of the mums approached us and brought their calves towards our bow for a closer look. It was during this twisting and turning we had a perfect view of the lower belly from one of the calves and could easily sight the Humpback Whale hemispherical lobe which is a round lump on the belly of the females that the males do not have. A very exciting moment to sight the gender of this young calf and know that she will be a mum herself one day in the next 10 to 14 years.

One female did cause us slight concern as we watched her resting in a very unusual manner, literally standing in twelve meters of water. We could see her fluke was positioned towards the bottom as her rostrum gently poked out above the surface to reveal her big white belly glowing below. Completely stationary her calf bobbed right alongside her and we watched as she stood in this way for ten minutes. Righting herself so she could breath we could hear the exhalations and her entire body language and breathing sounded heavy. Concerned that she may have had some entanglement around her fluke causing her to rest her fluke on the bottom instead of the normal horizontal resting position. We decided to stay with her and watch for a while just to see if everything was alright and after a few more surfacing’s she finally stretched her peduncle out and we could see clearly along her backbone and fluke… it was all clear. A sigh of relief and this mum seemed to just be exhausted, the other pods in the area were not bothering her and seemed to appreciate her situation by giving her plenty of space. The thoughtfulness and sensitivity our Humpback Whale population shows towards each other and what is in their environment is always wonderful to observe and we had yet another mum and her calf enjoying a seaweed facial again today as they appeared to enjoy the pampering!

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A spectacular whale watching season Perth is unfolding as we sighted surface active mums and calves who were communicating The Language of the Whales™ with each other and we had a front row seat! Starting our morning with four mothers, calves and two male escorts travelling together in a big pod towards the other resting Humpbacks looking for some fun and an opportunity to practice their surface activity. Once the breaching, pec slapping and fluke slapping began it was hard to stop as over thirty Humpbacks surrounded the general area and all put their two cents into the conversation. One large female was repeatedly pec slapping and seemed to be calling out for a male escort, all this pectoral slapping did get the attention of a second mother and calf pod with the female beginning inverted fluke slapping and tail lobs in response. Reminding us of a match of tennis as we looked left and then right as both females continued to talk to each other in the most spectacular way.

The fun certainly didn’t stop there as the female who was pectoral slapping had captured the focus of yet another mother and calf pod with the young calf breaching on his approach towards us. We could feel the excitement all around as each pod would communicate and the calves soaked up every moment of the fun. One female further away launched into enormous head lunges with her young calf breaching alongside as we observed the females motivating and teaching their calves. A perfect example of the different whale watching season Perth that we experience every year as the increase of Humpback Whales in the resting ground leads to many opportunities for these whales to communicate and socialise while enjoying the perfect weather conditions just off the coast of Perth.

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The Southern Humpback Whale Migration WA is sighted every year without fail as the largest population of Humpback Whales known in the world traverse our Western Australian coastline in grand numbers. The tall blow of a large adult whale rocketed skyward and it wasn’t long until we arrived in the location and watched patiently for the next surfacing. Whoosh, everyone jumped a foot as two adults surfaced right next to us after investigating under our hull for a few minutes and trying their best to hide in our sound footprint as another pod close by moved past the area. Humpbacks main sense is sound which they rely heavily upon and by hiding close to something else that is making a sound, like our motors heartbeat, they then disappear into the sound footprint and can no longer be easily heard by others in the area. Breaching erupted just ahead and we could see the complete opposite of whales trying to keep low profiles and a great example of The Language of the Whales™.

Breaching and pec slapping usually indicates flirty behaviour from our Humpback Whales and although it peaks during the northern Humpback Whale migration WA we often see this type of behaviour whenever there are a few males and females around just like this morning. The very large adult female was accompanied by a younger male Humpback who appeared to be taking every opportunity while he could to escort his girl. Such a large female will often attract the attention of only the most powerful and dominant males, but sometimes these younger males do get lucky and find themselves with the opportunity to escort a female back to Antarctica. Unfortunately, for these males generally the female will already be pregnant after a successful mating earlier on during the northern migration in June/July. Our morning also had another surprise as we sighted a beautiful Southern Right Whale who was cruising towards the coastline and after double checking the ID images from the first two sightings a few days ago we can confirm this is a brand new individual, three special Southern Right Whale sightings just off the coast of Perth so far for season 2018!

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Today was all about the flirty female Humpbacks of Flinders Bay who had the attention of not only the male Humpbacks but also ourselves! Numerous pods within the bay were travelling through with one competition pod of 6 individuals racing towards the abalone farm at full speed. The female had a clever idea to slow the following males down by giving them an obstacle course to move through and only the smartest and fastest males would be able to keep up. Her plan worked and three of the following males changed direction which allowed the remaining two males to continue the competition.

A very friendly and young female Humpback was calling us over with big tail lobbing and pectoral slapping to get our attention. Once we had arrived she swam directly towards our vessel and stayed underneath us as another pod of two traveled past. Once the strange pod had moved off she reappeared right alongside our vessel to everyones delight. Swimming around and around our vessel, she was a fun and full of energy personality who seemed to enjoy her crowd of admirers. Only young, we at first thought that this could be a possible re-sighting of Sally the Humpback but can now confirm through dorsal fin identification that the lovely female we spent time with this morning is a new individual we have not met previously.

She was covered in barnacles which created the question as to why Humpback Whales have so many barnacles on them? Living in the rich waters of Antarctica over the summer months it is a prime time for these skin parasites to find a comfy, mobile home and the Humpback Whales are a perfect target. The type of barnacles living on the skin of Humpbacks are known as Coronula diadema and will place themselves onto the skin of the Humpback whale wherever they may fall when whales swim through the larvae stage of these skin parasites nicknamed Acorn Barnacles. Thankfully for the Humpbacks, the lifespan of these barnacles is generally 12 months and the adult barnacles seem to become less prevalent on whales as they spend more time in warmer waters, perhaps a tropical holiday in the winter is not suitable for the Acorn Barnacles!

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Meet Sally Wonder, the most wonderous Humpback Whale who delighted our guests onboard with her beautiful character and magnificent surface activity! A young female Humpback who was named by one of our guests onboard after the cabaret character Sally Bowles. Shortly after leaving the Augusta Boat Harbour we could see surface activity filling the horizon with the Language of the Whales™ so we made our way to see what was happening. Upon our arrival we could see a young whale tail lobbing repeatedly and decided to watch a distance away to see what this Humpback Whale was up to. Noticing our arrival she started to make her way towards us when a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins approached and began to play with this friendly whale.

Dolphins and Sally Wonder continued to make their way directly towards our vessel and curiously look at everyone onboard. She then decided to tail lob only meters in front of our bow and lead us on a journey of breaching and pec slapping through Flinders Bay. Every time we stopped following her or moved too far away she would stop, return back to us, breach and continue encouraging us to follow her! A truly incredible encounter with a wonder whale we will always be grateful to have met.

Our morning tour was filled with many Humpback Whales resting, socialising and competing throughout the bay. A large white bellied male rested closely with his female whom he was escorting and both approached closely to check out our vessel before returning back to sleeping. We could see large head lunges in the corner of Flinders Bay and made our approach, arriving just as one pod went left and the others went right. A large male had been head lunging to defend his female from a pod of boisterous young adults who were charging through the bay. Surrounding our vessel and moving with speed we watched the powerful peduncle slaps and an enormous head lunge only meters from the Augusta foreshore and holiday homes… Augusta is one of the most unique places in the world for whale watching!

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We joined the Cape Leeuwin Competition Pod this afternoon as they raced through Flinders Bay at high speeds and with powerful energy. Spending the morning with a female Humpback Whale who was trying to get the attention of other males in the area by pectoral fin slapping and releasing a scent to seek out the most impressive male in the bay. The male who she was originally travelling with didn’t seem too pleased with her flirtatious behaviour and tried to deter any would be male suiters by peduncle slapping and tail slapping.

During the afternoon we met with a young juvenile pod of two who were playing in the shallows and underneath the most glorious rainbow that was so bright we were squinting! The young female would roll on her back to show everyone her belly while practicing her pectoral fin slapping. The rainbow stopped us in our tracks and we just had to capture some special photographs of such a beautiful sight, we even had a double rainbow. The surging of water is what we sighted first as we approached a competition pod of eight Humpbacks racing at top speeds over 18 kilometres per hour through the bay. They were charging, rolling and jostling for position and it wasn’t long before we had joined their pod and all eight whales were chasing each other around and underneath us. Cape Leeuwin is a perfect place to see the story of the northern Humpback Whale migration as males compete for the right to mate with a female and we have the opportunity to Join The Pod!

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Anyone who has young Children in their lives may be aware of the term mum.. mum.. mum.. mum.. look at me! Exactly our thoughts today as this young calf decided to breach only a few meters away from our bow and almost land directly on top of her mum. Not only spectacular to watch but also very educational as we noticed mum turn her head slightly to make sure she had a good view of her young calf, perhaps critiquing her calves breaching technique or making sure she wasn’t about to have 8 tonnes land on her head! Today we had a fantastic example of The Language of the Whales™ as the mothers focused on teaching their calves pectoral slapping and breaching surface behaviours.

We believe a couple of the calves sighted today were female as there was much time spent on perfecting the pectoral slap with one mother in particular almost seeming to be pec slapping in slow motion as her calf watched on before trying it herself. When a female is ready to mate she will “call in” the males that are close by pectoral slapping and releasing a scent with both sound and scent traveling for miles and driving the males crazy! Young female calves will need to perfect their pectoral slapping to use when they are a fair bit older, generally between 5 to 8 years of age. Male calves will also practice this behaviour but with so much focus on this particular behaviour today we were confident these young calves sighted practicing today will be the next generation of breeding Humpback females.

After some practice these busy calves then rested for a while with their mums and a good feed of milk was definitely due to replenish those energy levels that were used. We had some very curious visitors in a pod of 10 Bottlenose Dolphins who as usual came right up to the bow and along our port side checking everyone out onboard and saying hello.

ID Log
Date – 30.10.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – Undisclosed Long – Undisclosed
Notes – Mother of calf with black belly, grey line along backbone

A wonderful Friday morning that had us all excited to see who we could meet today! Mothers and their calves were everywhere we looked and many of these pods had a male escort with them which resulted in a lot of spectacular surface behaviour as the numerous pods began talking to each other. We had the perfect opportunity this morning to Learn the Language of The Whales™ as they communicated to each other over great and small distances with the young calves really enjoying some play time! The most incredible head lunging was sighted by a big female Humpback who soon had her calf joining in with baby breaching just off our bow.

Mother Humpbacks will often encourage their calves to practice surface behaviours while in the resting grounds as other pods who are also resting approach and interact together. This generally equals to many separate pods “mingling” together with females allowing their calves to play with other young calves which is a lot of fun for the little ones and very educational too. We were fortunate to see pec, tail and peduncle slapping today with some massive head lunges and breaches thrown in for good measure! Not just the calves were communicating today but also the females and male escorts which was fantastic to watch as the energy from these big adults you can literally feel… goosebumps

ID Log
Date – 28.10.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – Undisclosed Long – Undisclosed
Notes – Female of first pod sighted, with young calf and joined by male escort

Today was a very fun day with many escort pods sighted which always adds a different energy to the environment. The first mother and calf sighted today had only recently had a male Humpback approach them and try to interact with the female, but she was having none of it! Coming in close to our vessel she tried to keep the male away from her and her calf by putting our vessel in the way of his approach. This continued for a while with the female moving away and then returning back towards us until a bit of surface activity from another pod encouraged her to start moving away from the area we were in which was becoming increasingly busy with other escort pods arriving!

One female took the opportunity with so many other pods around to encourage her calf to practice some communication and we sighted a wonderful display of peduncle, pec and tail slapping. While watching these two practice another pod surfaced right next to us and we were in for a big surprise as we watched a 15 meter female surface with her large calf and male escort too.

She was massive! A big and healthy female who had a calf that was in perfect health and a male escort covered in battle scares… the only thing that made this moment even better was how interested this pod was in us.
She was full of so much trust towards us and confidence that she put her calf on her left side which was closest to us and approached only a few meters away, circling around our vessel and staying with us for a while. It certainly felt that we were in the presence of a Dinosaur of The Deep™ with this large female and the amount of travelling up and down the West Australian coastline she would have achieved during her lifetime.. makes you wonder what stories she could tell!

ID Log
Date – 27.10.16
Species – Humpback
Lat – Undisclosed Long – Undisclosed
Notes – Female with young calf who was very skinny along backbone

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