Tag: Season 2017

Spectacular whale watching today off Rottnest Island as a large black bellied female Humpback breached only meters away from our bow as she communicated the Language of the Whales towards another pod and encouraged her calf to join in on the conversation and practice his surface communication. Mum breached while her calf head lunged and the noise created by this surface activity was so loud we could hear the clap as her 30,000 kilo frame landed and sent water flying.

She also had company with a young male escort following the pair as they confidently moved towards another mother and calf pod who after hearing all that commotion decided to find a more quieter part of Rottnest. Full body breaching in such calm conditions will be heard for many kilometres by all other whales and predators that are around and it shows the confidence this female had with her surroundings and also by having a male escort with her as back up.

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We had a showdown today just off of Rottnest Island as a protective mother Humpback defended her calf from a 1.5 meter shark that had been sighted in the area. Full body breaches had all 30+ tonnes landing on the surface and we could see in the distance her body clear from the ocean below shortly followed by massive plumes of white water. Her calf also breached a few times to help mum out but it wasn’t long before mum had her little one close and they left the area in a big hurry before finally calming back down again close to us.

We have sighted this behaviour many times where a mother and calf pod will go from a resting sate to full defence mode with maximum energy and aggression in their surface activity. Shortly after they will gather their calf and leave the area at high speed before slowing down in a more suitable resting spot. Sharks do not always need to bite a whale to get this response, they can just be in the vicinity of a whales reactionary distance and most of the time they will be sure to let the shark know their thoughts!

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It was yet another beautiful day off the coast of Perth and as we made our way from the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour we were met by Hiccups the local Bottlenose Dolphin and a few of his friends actively hunting in the harbour. We soon sighted a sleepy mother and calf enjoying a relax close to the big ship New Life which was lovely to see as we celebrated this new addition to the Western Australian Humpback population. Just off the coast near Hillarys we could see surface activity as three mother and calf pods peduncle slapped and interacted together.

On our arrival we were now surrounded by seven mother and calf pods who were all up to something different, two were trying to avoid the interest of the more boisterous pods that had formed together in a typical “kindergarten” pod. All three calves rolled and twisted as they tried to outdo each other in the Language of the Whales! Eventually one female decided she had to get going which forced the other two mums to physically body block their calves who were still trying to chase after their new friend who was leaving…. the life of a female Humpback Whale can be very similar to most human mums sometimes.

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Female Humpbacks and their calves were hanging out in the most popular place to be this Tuesday morning in Western Australia as they disappeared in the sound footprint created by reef and ships just off the coast of Fremantle. We enjoyed watching seven mother and calf pods all up to something different which included playing in seaweed, practicing peduncle slaps and coming over to say hello to everyone onboard with one young female calf showing everyone her big belly as she rolled over just under our bow.

The natural curiosity of our Humpbacks always shines through and with so many different personalties out there it was special today to meet not only the more reserved mums but also the outrageously fun! We also had Ralph the local male Bottlenose Dolphin who is very much the bachelor and seems to spend most of his time in one particular area but always makes sure to come over and do some bow riding with us whenever he can.

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A glorious morning in Perth today as we sighted pod after pod of mothers and calves, a lone flying fish and a big bachelor pod of five male Humpbacks. There were so many Humpback Whales around everywhere we looked and it was exciting to observe a range of different behaviours such as logging, migrating and a small competition pod begin to form. A photo sequence captured today on camera is a favourite moment for many whale watchers as two of the males timed a perfect double tail dive and it was a big 10/10!

Many of the mothers and calves today were either resting or moving away from the bachelor pod of males, one female even used our vessel as a block to hide next to for a short time while the second pod past them. The males were certainly focused as they chased after an escort pod and it was very interesting to see this type of pod today as the competition pods and heat runs often tend to be more commonly sighted earlier on in the migration when there are more available females actively looking for a mate. Perhaps this female and her calf were hoping for a strong male who could help them on a safe passage along their southern migration.

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School was in as four mother and calf pods all converged together to create a big kindergarten pod of eight Humpback Whales today. They were practicing peduncle slaps, tail slaps and pec slaps as the females watched over their playful calves. What was very interesting to watch was one of the female Humpbacks hid in our sound footprint as she made her approach towards the large pod and this fantastic skill to have may prove very important in her young calves life in future years.

Humpback Whales learn from a young age how to use their environment to their advantage and sound plays such an important part of every moment of their life. Should you be too noisy predators will find you easily, but young calves need to practice noisy surface behaviour and what better way to do this when you have a few other big protective mums around. Sharks and Orca are very smart and know that when up against four large female Humpbacks their odds are certainly not great!

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Curious by nature our migrating Humpback Whales will often perform a behaviour known as a spy hop when wanting to establish what is happening just above the surface. This is true for all age groups and today after watching a young Humpback calf practice her pectoral slaps she then decided to stop and have a good look at us as she carefully raised her head above the sea and we could clearly see her eye looking right back at us! Happy with her discovery she then continued to show off to her many admirers.

Earlier on our journey we met a second mother and calf pod who were both enjoying some time with a pod of playful Bottlenose Dolphins. Both mother and calf were twisting and turning to keep up with the agile dolphins and it is always a very special encounter to see these two separate species get on so well. The female seemed to be having just as much fun as her calf and although the size difference between an adult Humpback and an adult Bottlenose Dolphin is enormous, both were very gentle towards each other and it is these calm manners the young calf was also learning all about in todays interaction.

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We are starting to see the peak of our southern Humpback migration as over twenty mother and calf pods were sighted today surrounding the coast just off Perth! We met a very special pod of two mother and calf pairs who had joined up and school was in for the morning as the mums let their babies practice and play the Language of the Whales which resulted in some amazing and adorable moments between the two calves. Seeing two Humpback calves play together is not always common to sight as female Humpbacks can be very picky on which other whales they allow to come close which made todays interaction even more special… and two baby whales trying to outdo each other with baby peduncle slaps is just too cute.

With two boisterous calves trying to outdo each other with breaching and peduncle slapping it wasn’t long until many of the other calves in pods close by started to join in and we could see plumes of white water all around us. These two calves and their mums were wonderful to spend some time with and the smallest calf who was slightly darker amazed us with his persistence in keeping up with the larger calf and it was fantastic to see this little one even try out some inverted tail slapping (lying on his back and tail slapping). October is a fantastic month to see baby Humpback Whales and their mums as they continue a long migration to the summer feeding grounds located in Antarctica.

We also had an incredible moment today as two fighter jets rocketed past and out towards the Perth Canyon. The spectacle was made even greater as both mothers and calves continued to play and interact with the smallest calf even throwing in a few more peduncle slaps to show off that he could fly too! What an amazing moment it was to see this on a beautiful day in Perth.

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It was a rather spectacular start to the day as off in the distance a female Humpback cleared the ocean with a massive head lunge and her calf quickly followed with a breach. The surface activity continued as both mother and calf breached and peduncle slapped their way towards us. The three other pods surrounding us also created some noise with a few breaches of their own as we watched this conversation of the Language of the Whales unfold in front of us.

After all this surface activity the young calf then decide he was rather hungry and disappeared below the oceans surface to have a quick feed from mum, this breaching is hard work! We also met up with an escort pod who seemed to be preparing for the next leg of their journey as they cruised towards Rottnest Island and just as we were about to say our goodbyes the male decided to give us a big pec slap wave as we wished them well for the rest of their journey.

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Sunshine, Humpback calves and friendly Bottlenose Dolphins completed the most beautiful Sunday Perth morning today☀ The perfect conditions were drawing a crowd of boat traffic towards Rottnest Island and we found ourselves acting just like a male escort Humpback as we stayed with a mother and her calf as she crossed the busy channel. She kept her calf close to us and once the other vessels had moved past she moved into a quiet pocket to enjoy the rest of her morning. Once a female trusts our vessel she will often use us as a sound footprint and today was a perfect example of how she treated us just like a male escort and it was a pleasure having the opportunity to help this female and her calf safely “cross the road”.

The second mother and calf pod we met were having a great time playing with the local Bottlenose Dolphin family as all 20-30 individuals surrounded mother and calf. These interactions are always fantastic to see especially when young calves are involved as the little Humpbacks try to keep up with the fast moving Dolphins and when the Dolphins try to leave the Humpback calves always seem to chase after them… poor mum has to try and keep up with her cheeky toddler!

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The whales of Western Australia must be breaching with excitement and celebrating Telethon’s 50th Anniversary which all starts this weekend. Mother and calf Humpbacks were everywhere this morning with over 12 pods sighted in very close proximity to each other which created the perfect opportunity to practice the Language of the Whales. One female in particular encouraged her calf to follow in her footprints by breaching her full 30+ tonnes clear from the surface below and her calf joined in with perfect timing.

They both continued to breach, pec slap and head lunge towards us which was very exciting as we sighted three other pods around them practicing the same surface activity. Humpback Whales were breaching all around us and it was interesting to see how each calf breached with the same style as their mum and practice does make perfect when they are copying mums picture perfect example.  Be sure to tune in tonight for the Telethon weekend and help celebrate 50 years of remarkable achievements and we look forward to seeing Telethon 2017 being a huge success and so are our whales!

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The baby Humpback Whales have started to arrive in big numbers and the waters off Fremantle are fast becoming a playground for these enthusiastic calves. When we have a number of mother and calves around we often will have the opportunity to sight surface activity as they communicate to each other and today was peduncle slap day. Pivoting their head down and throwing tail fluke and peduncle muscle skyward these calves are already creating an almighty splash.

This surface activity can easily be heard from other pods close by and females will often encourage their calves to practice the Language of the Whales by talking to each other. Although Humpback Whales do not live in permanent family groups or pods it is very common for them to rest and play close to where the others pods are, they are very social after all and there is always safety in numbers. We also wish Geoffrey a very Happy Birthday for today.

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