Whales off Rottnest Island were spotted today resting, relaxing and enjoying their day. It was such a lovely spring morning with light winds, blue sky and a turquoise see adding to the beauty of the sighting grounds. The next couple of weeks ahead will observe the last of the mum and calf Humpback Whale pods enjoying every moment in the resting grounds. The journey ahead to Antarctica is the final hurdle of what has been the most epic of journeys with mother whale not having fed since she left the feeding grounds many months ago! The calves are spoilt though as they get to enjoy a couple of hundred litres of milk per day thanks to their mum and never feel the hunger thanks to their mums dedication. Our morning tour was spent with two mums and their little ones who were playing together with one of the calves confirmed to be a cheeky male who was showing off his tail lobs and inverted tail slaps.
It is always so special to watch young calves play together as the mums watch on and these interactions are an important part of their growth and development. The mother of the male calf was also very social as she did a couple of gentle pec slaps before both pods settled in to rest a short distance away from each other. Our midday tour gave us the opportunity to observe a gathering of further mums and their precious calves. While most of the pods were resting we noticed one mum was determined to find her calf a playmate as she made the slow but consistent approach towards the other whales further ahead of her. The other mums were just a little too sleepy for playtime so politely outmanoeuvred her but she was now at least in a good spot to rest so once those other whales have caught up on their sleep they will hopefully have an opportunity to socialise and allow their calves to play together. It was also such a thrill today to have our marvellous Navy personal flyby, thank you for all that you do!
