Perth Humpback rescue unfolded today as social Humpback Whales and our mother and calf Southern Right Whale also made another special appearance. It was set to be a very busy day out on the water and thankfully the weather was absolutely perfect for the day ahead. Our first sighting was a very familiar face as we were extremely pleased and excited to see the same mum and calf Southern Right Whale who we sighted a couple of days ago. We had hoped she would remain in the area and much to our delight this morning she was resting with her calf and meandered over to say a quick good morning. Wishing them well and leaving them to their rest we moved out towards a pod of three rather boisterous Humpback Whales who were in a very playful mood. Twisting, rolling and spy hopping all around the Steep Point we once again had velcro whales and what a joy it is to be with them when they are in such a curious mood. Amongst the still conditions their excitable trumpeting exhales were incredibly loud as they moved within a few feet of us and it was a very special way to complete a wonderful morning out at sea.
Our afternoon was a similar tempo with our first pod observed being a lone traveller, a tiny yearling who was also very curious. Approaching for a quick look he continued on his way as we moved up to a pod of three juveniles who seemed to be mimicking a competition pod. All three were not yet of a breeding age but the two who appeared to be males were closely following a possible female who was leading the chase. It was all very boisterous and while watching the proceedings we noticed two small white floats being dragged behind the female… unfortunately we had an entangled whale. It is very uncommon to observe entanglements and over many years of whale watching our family has only observed a handful of entangled individuals. The female seemed bothered by the chasing males and managed to outmanoeuvre them and peel away. Thankfully they lost interest and continued on their way giving us the opportunity to focus our attention on the entangled whale and putting a plan together on how we could assist.
The wonderful team from DBCA were able to scramble quickly and drop everything they were doing to make their way towards Fremantle so they could launch the rescue vessel. The entanglement was wrapped around the area which is most common in these situations where the fluke attaches to the tail stock and was trailing a long line and two floats. She was distressed and moving quickly as we tracked her movement and hoped she would settle to prevent her from leaving the area. Thankfully the other whales nearby ignored her and we decided to let her move off while we hung out with a very social pod of two juveniles (velcro whales once again as they swam around and around us!). One of our team members kept a close eye on her movements at all times and noticed she started to settle a few hundred meters away and begin to rest much to our relief. The team from DBCA were racing the clock and if she could remain in the area resting for a while it would be of great help for their rescue efforts.
We would like to say a massive thank you to the team from DBCA for their efforts in responding so quickly and coordinating their team together with such short notice. Also, a very big thank you to Fremantle Sea Rescue and the Rottnest Island Rangers for your speedy response in getting to her quickly to continue tracking movements after our departure until the DBCA team arrived. It takes a mammoth effort to disentangle whales and it certainly was heartwarming to see so many racing to this Humpback Whales side to help her in any way possible. The team was able to to secure a satellite buoy which will provide tracking of her movements and enable a plan to be implemented tomorrow for an attempt at removing the entanglement. We will keep you updated on any further progress and thank you also to all of our Pod Member onboard this afternoon for your patience and assistance in tracking her movement.
