Today we had some very special guests onboard and the whales seemed to know that their best human friends had come to meet them because for the very first time ever we sighted a female Southern Right Whale and her calf interacting with a female Humpback Whale and her calf just off Rottnest Island, we were completely blown away with surprise and excitement! This was an amazingly rare encounter to watch as these two different baleen whale species allowed their calves to approach each other and we could feel the curious energy coming from both the mothers and calves as they met for the very first time.
The Southern Right Whales were most curious as they followed the Humpbacks for most of the time before the female Humpback decided she would shuffle over to us for a bit of “back up” and then the roles were reversed as the Humpbacks decided to follow the Southern Rights. A truly incredible encounter and the day was made even more special by the local pod of Bottlenose Dolphins who raced over to say hello. Our special guests onboard today certainly have an ocean full of friends and we would like to thank you so much for joining us on this beautiful morning and introducing us to your ocean mates.
We have always thought our whales just know when someone special is onboard and today this certainly proved true as this female Southern Right Whale has a completely different calf to the previous Southern Right that has been sighted off Perth beaches. She must have been in hiding, just waiting until the beautiful Children and families from PMH were onboard so she could show them her little calf all covered in white splashes.
This will be a tour we will always remember and treasure, the Southern Right Whale population in Australian waters only 50 years ago was somewhere between 50-100 individuals and very little hope was held for the future of this population. Our family motto has always said, “While I have breathe, I hope” and today we met a beautiful Southern Right mother and her calf who showed us to always keep breathing and keep hoping.
