Perth Whale Watching Experience during October will observe thousands of mother whales and their new calves migrating past our coastline in the waters off Perth. It was a beautiful day as the early morning easterly breeze ruffled the waters surface and in the sighting grounds many mums and calves were enjoying the peaceful day. Most of the pods were relaxed and resting but we could see a commotion was up ahead as two pods converged with one of the mums and calves launching into breaching and head lunging. Joining together it was now playtime as the little ones loved the opportunity to chase after each other and show off their tail lobs. Approaching us for a closer look we enjoyed watching as they all swam past before resuming playtime with the younger calf popping up to have a look around with a very cute spy hop as a third mum and calf approached. Wonderful to see the importance of these resting grounds as a perfectly safe and comfortable play school zone for the young calves to meet others of the same age group.
The afternoon observed the winds easing and our first interaction was with a mum and calf from this mornings tour. Recognising our sound they swam straight over and spent some time hanging out alongside us before mother whale decided she was ready to return back to sleeping. Slowly departing the area we joined with another pod of two mums and calves with one male escort keeping a low profile nearby while the calves played. Suddenly and to everyone surprise (especially the male escorts!) a young bachelor male Humpback came charging in from underneath us having used our sound footprint as a disguise in his approach. The mothers scattered quickly with their calves as the escort male leapt into action, charging after this new male who had appeared out of the blue. The boys were incredibly intense as they chased after each other and tried to push the other male into our vessel as we drifted and watched on in awe. It was a spectacular example of just how powerful and smart these male Humpback Whales are and how quickly the energy levels in the sighting grounds can change when enjoying a Perth whale watching experience.
