Bachelor male Humpbacks causing mischief today in the waters off Fremantle as amongst the mother and calf pods the boys were on a mission. Our first pods were mum and bubs who seemed to be very cautious as we could feel that there was something they were keeping a close listen out for, perhaps a few of the boys from yesterday were still around. A powerful surfacing just ahead erupted as five Humpback Whales all surfaced at once including a young calf. The little ones are built tough from a young age as they learn to keep up with mum when the chase is on. The males were excited but had a challenge ahead of them as the mother and calf were travelling with a very large and protective male escort.
He was not budging and certainly wasn’t letting the two challengers get any closer than a few meters from him at all times. The boys bubble veiled and trumpeted as they showed their excitement and want to get closer to the female but although they tried her male escort was doing an excellent job of keeping them away from her. A third challenger approached and it was at this moment the primary escort displayed his smarts as he took full advantage of the opportunity. During that brief moment the two challengers were distracted by the new arrival the escort male quickly pushed mum and calf in the opposite direction, underneath our bow and moving at speed away from the bachelor boys. The now three challengers were momentarily flustered before they realised they had lost track of the female! It is always interesting to watch how these pods unfold and as the escort proudly moved away with his girl the bachelors regrouped and joined together in search of another opportunity.
