Perth Humpback sighting grounds were busy this morning and many whales were on the move, competing and socialising in these important waters for our annual migration. It was an extraordinary morning as our first pods observed were over twelve seperate mum and calf pods all on the move and urgently. It was clear to see they were clearing out from the area and we soon found out why as a commotion on the horizon was observed. It was an enormous competition pod of fourteen Humpback Whales all on the move as the males chased after a very beautiful female Humpback. She was tired and spied us immediately, racing straight for the boat to slow down the males and give her a quick break from all the commotion. She continued to repeat this over and over as she used our vessel as a block to give her a short break before moving away and challenging the males with a long breath hold. It was incredible to be part of this pod and we felt a very strong connection to the female whale who came in so close to us, it was remarkable! The scar on her back was form previous calves sleeping on that area and revealing bit of her personality and way she likes to raise her calves. Hopefully we will get to meet her again as she not only had charmed us but clearly the dozen males who were vying for her attention!
Our midday tour was just like the morning, sunny and calm seas with a very familiar commotion on the horizon, our competition pod from this morning was still going strong! It was remarkable to watch the same males and our special female making their way through the sighting grounds with energy still high and as soon as the flame heard us she turned and raced towards the bow. Desperate for that same distraction she was looking for earlier this morning, soon we had her underneath our feet once again and she was relived to slow up the males for a little bit. The local Bottlenose Dolphins arrived on scene to see what was going on and also did a great job in distracting the males as four swam away from the female and joined with them instead. Finally the female had only four males following, down from thirteen earlier on in the morning and we could se the energy amongst them slowly starting to settle. We decided it best to let them continue on as we moved out to join a mother whale and her calf being accompanied by a low profile male escort. The little one was playful and circled around us with mum for a closer inspection before they continued onwards towards Rottnest Island. It was an exhilarating and extraordinary day in the Perth Humpback Whale sighting grounds, we enjoyed every moment!
