The gentle pitter patter of rain on Flinders Bay this morning added to the incredibly calm day which felt like we were cruising around on a big pond! Humpbacks enjoyed these lovely morning conditions with a large female Humpback accompanied by a slightly smaller male Humpback in what is known as an escort pod. They will journey together north towards the breeding grounds and the male is ever hopeful for the opportunity to be the father of this females next calf.
The benefit of travelling in an escort pod for the female is protection from other boisterous males who would drain her energy should she need to move away from them. Her current male escort will defend his girl with many dominant surface activities such as head lunges, tail slapping and big powerful breaching. That should get the message across before the other males approach too closely, but if they do arrive then we can see an escort pod very quickly change into an active and fast moving competition pod.
