Ocean predators in The Patch as today we found ourselves surrounded by the oceans top predators with playful Orca and over fifty Sperm Whales sighted! Arriving in The Patch we were quickly greeted by Cheryl and the family pod with Akama and Gabrielle most excited for morning greetings. The family ventured away to forage which left mum and bub with us as they played and socialised all morning long. Approaching us repeatedly, it was so special to be part of the fun as Akama would swim upside down and underneath the bow while Gabrielle gave the GoPro a thorough investigation. All morning long they made the most of their playdate which meant they didn’t disrupt the family who were busy foraging a distance away and on the lookout for lunch.
Interestingly, shortly after lunchtime we noticed Akama begin to tail slap as she called out to her family and Gabrielle joined in with the conversation. Breaching and tail slaps followed as it was clear they were ready to regroup with the family pod. Gathering together, big boy B-Slice was the first to meetup with Akama and Gabrielle before the rest of the family arrived. It was soon very clear why the Orca decided to regroup as on the horizon and heading our way was to our amazement over fifty Sperm Whales! It is the largest Sperm Whale pod we have observed for the last two seasons and made our day to see so many of these beautiful creatures. Little is understood about the population of Sperm Whales in Australian waters and each interaction is an opportunity to document individuals and observe their behaviour. A thrilling way to complete a very special day out in The Patch amongst our oceans greatest predators.
