Perth long weekend Whale Watching began today with high energy and enthusiasm as a powerful pod of eight competitive whales started our long weekend perfectly! Our first sighting was of a lone male enjoying himself as he rolled about in the seaweed and covered his rostrum. Seaweed can have antibacterial qualities which will assist the healing process for any cuts or wounds which these males often have after a long and tough competition season. He then began to move off towards a commotion up ahead as we noticed pods converging, bachelor boys had arrived! Sure enough a competition pod resulted and as whales went left, right and centre we eventually had eight form into a powerful comp pod. Racing around the sighting grounds, the female decided she needed a distraction and came straight for us as she dived within meters and so did all the boys.
Swimming around us in circles it took a while but eventually she managed to disperse most of the bachelors and swim away with her escort. Our midday tour was very much a cookie cutter theme as this time we had a total of nine Humpback Whales competing! It is an exciting time of the year as the last of the bachelor males make their way south before the mum and calves arrive in big numbers. The boys make the most of each an every opportunity possible to approach females and compete for their attention. Watching so many Humpbacks surface at once on such a beautiful day is always memorable as they bring much energy and excitement to the sighting grounds. Our afternoon tour firstly sighted an adorable new calf travelling with mum and an escort male as both of the adults were relaxed and pec slapping the afternoon away. Three escort pods then converged and results in some interesting pod dynamics as they all socialised, mingled together and began a big surface display of tail lobs and tail slapping as they asserted dominance. It was a brilliant day with the whales and a fantastic start to our Perth long weekend whale watching.
