It was a Blue Whale Watch day as to our immense excitement two adult Blue Whales were sighted amongst a ocean full of bouncy Humpback Whales! A rain shower mov ed through on our way out to the sighting grounds but cleared in perfect timing to reveal pods everywhere! It was all about the adults this morning as multiple bachelor males converged on the area which caused two seperate females to begin pec slapping in a flirty way to encourage the approach of the boys. The male escorts of these females were not impressed and began to tail lob and tail slap to try and deter the approach of the challengers. It didn’t work though as two seperate competition pods formed as they chased each other around the sighting grounds causing defensive tail lobs and breaches from the other pods nearby. It was a very exciting and energy filled morning as whales were sighted surrounding us both near and far creating the perfect start to our day of whale watching.
Our midday tour had us stunned as while we were watching some rather spectacular breaching just a head two enormous glows appeared alongside. Two powerful blows erupted right alongside us and we were absolutely thrilled to see two enormous Blue Whales! It was a very special moment for everyone onboard to see these incredible whales, one of the most endangered species of cetacean on the planet and the worlds largest creature to have ever lived. Travelling with both these Blue Whales was such a joy, we are so pleased to have met them and they looked to be in good health as well after a winter feeding north in the Banda Sea. Moving consistently towards Rottnest Island we knew these whales would be on their way south shortly and just how fortunate we were to have spent some time with them both. The next encounter was extraordinary as a lone female launched into a huge twenty minute display of breaching, head lunging and pec slapping as she called out for a friend to join her for the southern migration.
Our afternoon tour was a different pace as much of the bachelor males had made their way out of the sighting grounds leaving most mums and calves to enjoy the peace and quiet. One pod in particular captured our interest as a mother, calf and protective male escort were on the move towards Rottnest Island. Travelling at a steady pace they were covering ground efficiently as the pilot vessel raced past our stern and it was this close, high speed approach which caused a reaction from the young calf. The little one launched into a defensive tail lob and then followed it up with a couple of massive baby breaches to show his protective side for mum. It was very sweet to see this little one mimicking the behaviour of the escort male and one day in the very distant future he too will be escorting a female. Today was all about practicing though and showing off what this little one has learnt over the last few weeks.
