Whale watching Perth journeys was peaceful today as we observed restful mums and calves with a lovely visit by the local Bottlenose Dolphins this morning. It was a really lovely morning with a light breeze and calm conditions creating perfect whale spotting opportunities. Scanning the sighting grounds we observed our first pod of a sleepy mum and calf who were soaking in their peaceful morning. Approaching us for a closer look they moved past our bow and starboard side before settling back into rest mode. Wishing them well for the remainder of their morning snoozing we then moved out to further mum and bub pods who were all collectively resting.
It is days like these that we see the importance of these resting grounds for the mums, these safe and tranquil waters provide them time to regain energy for the next phase of the journey south. Our final pod was a mum and her calf who were approached by members of the Rottnest Island Dolphin pod who came zooming over for playtime. Trumpeting and snaking from mum showed her excitement as the calf wiggled and rolled to try and keep up with the more agile Bottlenose Dolphins. The good weather continued into the afternoon with a little more cloud cover settling in for a cosy environment for our mums and calves. The pods were relaxed and there were many of them as they ensured a suitable reactionary distance in-between each other.
Teaching their calves how to rest when you have other whales nearby is important, being respectful and not bothering another pod while they are sleeping is important for harmony amongst the mother whales. It is different when the boisterous bachelor males are in the area, but with fewer males now around as we move into the last few weeks of the season the mums have a lot less interference. The boys will often approach and chase after the mother whales creating small moments of chaos but now that the bulk of the bachelor males have departed times are much more relaxing in the sighting grounds. One mother whale did tail lob though with a quick followup breach by her calf just to ensure one of the others pods didn’t get too close to her preferred resting spot!
