Rottnest Whale Watch was active today with a specular breaching and pec slapping display observed onboard both our morning and midday tours. Numerous pods were observed making their way through the resting grounds with a few mum and calf pods quietly resting. Currently there are still many adult whales travelling south including a fair few bachelor males and this morning one female Humpback Whale was keen on gaining their attention. Launching into powerful breaching, she lit up the sighting grounds with enormous plumes of white water erupting every time she crashed back down. Following up with flirty pec slaps, it didn’t take long for a couple of the nearby bachelor males to approach and join her. The competition began to form as her primary escort male did all he could to maintain his position but it was a challenge with the new bachelors on scene and the female encouraging them to compete so she could choose the most suitable candidate to escort her safely back to Antarctica.
The midday tour was a very similar scene, except our first pod was a lone juvenile who was on the lookout for a friend. Moving through the area he would carefully approach a couple of the pods ahead of him but they were escort pods and not interested in another addition. He decided to check us out instead and remained close before continuing back down into the resting grounds. Hopefully soon a suitable friend will move through the area for this youngster to meet and join with for the rest of the migration ahead. It was another beautiful female Humpback who stole the show as she decided it was her time to call out to the others and try to find an escort male. Incredible breaching and pec slapping unfolded as she called out far and wide to encourage nearby bachelor males to make their way towards her location. She even flirted with us by pec slapping her way towards and past the bow, showing off her big belly and how incredible to witness pec slapping in such intricate detail. She continued on calling out and we were confident she would find herself with a few bachelor males in no time who we are sure would be ready to compete for her attention.
