Tag: Peduncle Slap

A privilege to experience Perth whale watching at its finest today with extraordinary surface activity from large adult Humpback Whales who launched 45 tonnes into the atmosphere in spectacular fashion! Our first pod of mother, calf and male escort were travelling towards a pod of two sub adults who were pec slapping and breaching to encourage their approach. Upon their arrival the enormous male escort launched into a full bodied breach and quickly followed with a powerful head lunge to establish his dominance towards the sub adults. They joined together for a short while and all together were joining in with pectoral fin slapping and breaching as they enjoyed a social interaction.

The escort pod continued in the opposite direction as the subadults moved towards a third pod up ahead, breaching and pec slapping as they went. One of the subadults was even having a cheeky look at us every time she breached as her beautiful eye could be seen looking back towards us. Further surface activity could be sighted all around with breaching creating a colourful display of white water splashes along the horizon as The Language of the Whales™ was in full swing. Meeting a further two pods and playful Bottlenose Dolphins we were just about to head back towards the port of Fremantle after a brilliant experience Perth whale watching when our familiar mother, calf and escort pod surfaced alongside. The energetic male escort was really flirting with the female with showy fluke slaps, tail lobs and even pectoral slapping as he showed off his big white belt to the female. She seemed more focused on her calf though and her little one was having an absolute ball as he repeated each of the males behaviours, even inverted tail slapping which was very talented indeed!

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The Humpback highway at Rottnest Island was peak hour today as dozens of Humpbacks communicated The Language of the Whales™ with spectacular surface activity as everywhere from our bow to the horizon was surrounded by breaching! Beginning our journey with a mature female, calf and escort we enjoyed our time with them before the breaching began straight ahead and the horizon filled with white water created by tonnes of weight hitting the surface. Approaching one of the pods we met the most fantastic calf who was the star of the Humpback highway as he breached and showed off his aerodynamics. He was communicating to an approaching mother and calf pod who also responded occasionally with a breach of their own until eventually both pods joined together.

Although they had now joined together it didn’t stop this young male calf from continuing his breaching, spurred on by the surface activity further ahead, to the left and to the right as we were completely surrounded by Humpback Whales. A pod of adults straight ahead seemed to capture the focus of this energetic calf and he beelined straight towards them with continuos breaching. The adults were focused amongst themselves though with big pectoral fin slapping as a female flirted with two adult males. The breaching calf, mum and male escort continued moving towards the adults and their companion pod of mother and calf decided that was a bit too much activity happening ahead so departed with a few peduncle slaps as mum taught her calf how to protect your space. A truly remarkable day out on the Humpback highway and what a privilege to spend time with our superstars!

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Fremantle whale watching was alive with activity today as our Humpback Whales enjoyed the beautiful conditions and calves were at play. Our first encounter was with a mother, calf and male escort all travelling together and the calf appeared to be hassling mum for more milk by rolling in front of her and attempting to position on top of her blowhole… calves can be very cheeky! Distant breaching caused the young calf to respond with a breach of her own as they moved towards a resting ground amongst the tankers. Leaving them to continue their morning it wasn’t long before we were surrounded by Humpback Whales as one pod moved left and the other moved right while at the same time the calves were communicating with surface activity towards each other.

Recognising the cow and calf from yesterday (Mr. Breach) we watched with great interest as the females escort performed two peduncle slaps and then was instantly followed by Mr. Breach who continued to peduncle slap for the next twenty minutes! He was communicating to a second mother and calf pod who had joined up with us and were swimming right alongside our vessel. Moving in incredibly close the female was teaching her calf how to use our sound footprint as a great disguise when approaching another pod of whales. The calf seemed to enjoy the opportunity to get to know us and came closer and closer as we moved together as one. A very special day out on the water enjoying Fremantle whale watching with perfect conditions and spectacular Humpback Whales.

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The baby Whales of Western Australia are starting to make their way south on their first ever migration towards Antarctica. This exciting adventure is filled with wonders along the way for these young baby Whales and people watching is one of the fascinating new things they can enjoy! Today a beautiful calf decided to come in for a closer look after having a morning feed from mum. We could hear the loud “whoosh” just to our starboard side and as we looked over he was snuggled up right alongside us, so close we were counting the barnacles all over his little body. Mum was very relaxed and allowed her calf to investigate us at very close quarters as we watched on with much adoration towards this beautiful calf whom was showing much curiosity towards our vessel and everyone onboard.

Now that he had introduced himself it was time to play and this involved some small tail lobs, inverted fluke slapping and even a few pec slaps. Rolling and twisting his body around mum we could see how patient she was with her energetic calf and ever watchful over her little one. One behaviour we noticed was how each time mum would perform a round out dive she would carefully lift her fluke clear of the surface and of course baby Whale would follow and mimic exactly what mum was doing. The only problem is when you are putting on around 50kg of weight per day and roughly 3cm in size your body is not always very well coordinated! The tail dive was almost perfect, just a little wobbly at times for this lovely calf who enjoyed flicking that fluke up high and catching the breeze as he went.

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Today we had a meeting with an old friend at Rottnest Island… but we didn’t know this meeting would be in place until we spied each other in the crowd! A very special whale whom we sighted last year who has only half of his left pectoral fin remaining left a big impression on us and today we jumped with joy to see this wonderful whale once again as that unmistakable pectoral broke the surface. He certainly recognised us before we remembered him as his social interaction with another whale paused briefly as he raced straight over towards us and once his pectoral broke the surface we instantly knew who he was, our dear old friend who we had not seen in over a year! It is always a joyous occasion to meet any whale but when we have built a friendship with such a special whale over a year ago and meeting again today it felt like nothing had changed, how wonderful is that! Our magnificent whales always bring so much joy to our lives and we couldn’t be happier to see our dear friend looking well and living the Humpback life socialising and frolicking just off Rottnest Island.

It was fascinating to watch as he enjoyed practicing duelling flukes with his buddy just off our bow, exactly the same behaviour we sighted from him on the 18th of September last season. A mother and her calf along with a juvenile Humpback Whale were also joining in the conversation as we watched a perfect example of the Language of the Whales™ as each pod communicated towards each other with spectacular surface activity. A very special day that even had the local Bottlenose Dolphins coming over to check things out while we enjoyed every moment catching up with our old mate at the local hangout near Rottnest Island, how good it was to see him again!

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A tiny Humpback Calf decided to come over and investigate us this morning as he travelled along with his mum and decided some people watching was a great way to spend their Friday morning! Mum also had some company with her as we noticed a young sub adult Humpback travelling with her and appeared to be trying to act as an escort. Still very young, this cheeky juvenile performed a couple of impressive peduncle slaps and was closely tagging along with mother and calf. The energy from mum was very relaxed as the large female moved towards us and swam directly towards our bow while bringing baby along with her. The Humpback Calf loved the opportunity to sit on mums back as she gently approached us so both could get a better look, much to our delight and enjoyment.

The juvenile also approached and it was a special moment to have all three curiously investigating us, most focused was certainly the young calf who appeared mesmerised by the vessel. After a little while it was back on the move again as mum carefully journeyed towards a sheltered part of the coast to relax and enjoy the approaching weekend. The mother and calf slowed at one stage with the surface activity and down time indicating he was having a feed from mum. Consuming up to 360 litres of milk each day it is incredible to imagine that quantity multiplied over days and weeks, the sustenance being provided by mum allowing this calf to grow and prosper through out the next 12 months.

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The juvenile whales are launching into the September Humpbacks season with the first front of the southern migration tending to be the young stars of the next Western Australian Humpback generation. These Humpback whales range from one to twelve years of age generally and are lively, excitable individuals who also can be shy at times as they lack the same experience and confidence seen in their elders. Two of these sub adults were travelling together today when we noticed that they had a shadow… another young Humpback Whale was curiously following them but at a safe distance. Humpback Whales are very good at keeping reactionary distances which are very important to ensure survival as it gives them the upper hand and should they need to move away in a hurry they will ensure there is always that reactionary distance there to provide them with the upper hand.

The three young Humpbacks were continuing to follow each other around as the one individual decided to try and travel closer to us and hide in our sound footprint, but to no avail as the other two continued to be fully aware of his presence. Seeming to not want his company anymore one from the pod of two launched his fluke and peduncle into the sky as we watched a beautiful tail lob and perfect example of September Humpbacks Language of the Whales™ and how effectively surface activity will be used to communicate. The two then moved towards some seaweed for a quick “facial” whole the one individual turned his attention towards a breach further out on the horizon… perhaps those whales would be more interested in saying hello and socialising with him.

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A wonderful morning with Humpback Whales in the “departure lounge” of Whale Watch Fremantle. The southern Humpback migration starts to pickup momentum and we see more and more whales enjoying a short relax in the sheltered waters off Fremantle. Waiting patiently for the right moment to continue their migration back to the feeding grounds of Antarctica, the Humpbacks we sighted this morning seemed to be biding their time with some social outings! A total of eight Humpback whales were all together at one point as six juveniles and two young adults twisted, rolled and balanced upside down for some morning fun and interaction. The importance of the departure lounge as a resting ground for our visiting Humpbacks when we whale watch Fremantle we can clearly see why.

A pod of two fast became four and then six as one of the cheeky individuals swam alongside us trying to hide his approach and make a surprise appearance. Although we were only in shallow water the agility of these Humpbacks is always amazing to watch as they twisted upside down and balanced their enormous flukes above the waters surface. The passing two adults were observing from afar as they travelled past but the distraction of six happy, playful Humpbacks was too much and they decided to check out what was going on. In typical adult form we watched in amazement as enormous peduncle slaps flew skyward to show off to the others their strength and let everyone know who was boss. The juveniles responded with a few peduncle slaps of their own and we loved every moment of observing the brilliant Language of the Whales™ unfold in front of us. Fantastic to see such happy whales with their focus now towards Antarctica and their first meal in a very long time.

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Minke Whales surrounded us just as two Humpback Whales surfaced in front of our bow, what an incredible whale watch experience we were having just off Hillarys ! All four whales swam straight towards our vessel and were completely fascinated by everyone onboard as they circled around and around us. The Minke Whales were beautifully marked adults and glided through the ocean with such ease as their sleek rostrums pointed upwards momentarily before breaking the surface. Humpbacks both full of excitement with the Minke Whales so close showed curiosity towards us and the male practiced his peduncle slaps right on our stern and then a little while later again on our bow, the power creates such an amazing sound.

The Minke Whales continued to observe us carefully and approached us playfully while the Humpback Whales seemed to try and keep our attention with the male even breaching twice alongside our vessel only meters away! It is incredibly rare to sight Minke Whales and as they also head south towards Antarctica we have had three separate Minkes in two days which is very exciting. To then sight Humpback Whales and Minke Whales interacting is truly remarkable, so we certainly felt very privileged today as we enjoyed every moment of our whale watch experience just off Hillarys. A beautiful Indian Yellow-Nosed Albatross and local Bottlenose Dolphins did not go unnoticed either today along with wonderful conditions, but the Minke Whales meeting the Humpbacks and all of us creating one big pod of fun was fantastic!

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One of the many wonders of Western Australia are our whales who we are privileged to spend incredible moments with when aboard Whale Watch WA. Today was another one of those special days as we met two curious Humpbacks Whales who stopped us in Flinders Bay and decided to introduce themselves. Swimming directly to our bow and showing off their numerous barnacles and bumps we were intrigued to see their unadulterated curiosity towards us, we may be called Whale Watch Western Australia but today we certainly felt that People Watch Western Australia would be more suitable as we watched the whales watching us!

Both of the individuals came in so close to our water level viewing platforms that it felt like we were walking on water with the whales! The two friendly Humpbacks enjoyed a seaweed facial as they lifted their rostrums to drape seaweed across their upper jaw and make sure their skin is in the best condition. Completely relaxed with our company they stayed with us for over an hour and even a passing pod close by didn’t distract them away from us, instead the male Humpback tail lobbed only meters away from us to deter the approach of the second pod.

The spectacular surface activity worked as the second pod changed direction and moved away, leaving us to continue to enjoy the company of these remarkable Humpback Whales aboard Whale Watch WA . Our wonderful morning was complete with another one of the wonders, little Stacka the Southern Right Whale calf decided to show us his pearly whites today and we were blown away to see his entire lower jaw and belly is the purest shade of white!

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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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