Perth Whale interactions today started off with a very quiet individual very close to North Mole, Fremantle harbour with concerns he was too close to the channel entrance however there was no immediate resurface which is a sign of a resting or sleeping whale so we made our way out into Gage Roads and came across 15-20 whales in very close proximity.
Converging on the area was a couple of big adults which showed their dominance with a couple of lazy tail lobs as others approached, this was enough for a Mother and her calf, situated directly on top of her, to scoot out of the area at pace across our bow at a rate of knots.
This tactic is part of the Language of the Whales whereby they will use our sound footprint to ‘disappear’ from the other whales. We let Mum and calf go as they did not wish to interact with so many adults in the area, which is Mum’s primary mandate at this time of year, to get her calf safely back to Antarctica.
Joining the Pod of other adults we spent some time cruising across the channel interacting with them as they came within a few meters of our vessel to check us out and then continue on their migration south.
We then returned to Gage Roads and sighted our local water Police standing guard as a competition pod approached their vessel. Exemplary Whale Watch conduct by our Officers in Blue as they stood still while the Whales approached them and gently gazed on in wonderment as two 45 ton humpbacks dwarfed their 10 meter patrol vessel. As the competition pod split we spent some time with the more active group as the others entertained the Police for a while before our Blue Water guardians departed slowly back to their base.
Perth Whale interactions are enjoyed by many and when you give them the respect they deserve you will get the Whale Watch of a lifetime, right here in Perth, Western Australia.
