The Bremer Canyon Sperm Whale hunting grounds are the same as the Orca and the prey is no less fierce. A large exhalation on the horizon captured our attention as we marvelled at the enormous size of two young male bull Sperm Whales and the fresh wounds one was carrying. All along the side of his flank one of the males showed off long, trailing scars that had been caused by the rotating arm hooks of a Giant Squid that have been dragged across the skin of this Sperm Whale. It looks like this large male has won the battle but now retains these scars, they will heal quickly but how fascinating to observe the competition of the deep! Our day was filled with an amazing variety of wildlife as we sighted a sleepy New Zealand Fur Seal, foraging juvenile Hammerhead Shark, four Lion’s Mane Jellyfish with one appearing to have been nibbled, a tiny Fairy Penguin who darted out of the camera frame, a hungry Sunfish who was scanning for more Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish and possibly the most special sighting of the day with three small cetaceans surfacing briefly and appearing to be Hectors Beaked Whale from the images captured. A very busy day with many wonderful sightings and listening to the Sperm Whales clicks through our hydrophone as they foraged for their next meal below us was exciting! A large amount of rope was found floating on the surface today and with a bit of hard work we managed to wrestle it onboard and deliver it back to the mainland, our Bremer Canyon residence seeming pleased that we were able to take away the rubbish for them and keep the hunting grounds clear.
