Curious bachelor male Humpbacks had us surrounded this morning in the midst of a rumbling thunderstorm and it was a spectacular interaction! It was a moody morning as we departed the harbour and we could quickly see a commotion ahead as we arrived to six seperate pods communicating with breaching, pec slapping and tap slapping all around. It was beautiful to see as they leapt clear of the ocean below in a perfect display of the Language of the Whales. As all the pods converged, we drifted right into the heart of the action, marvelling at how close the inquisitive bachelor males were to our vessel. They swam around us repeatedly, clearly engaged in a playful competition to see who could get closest to our vessel!
This behaviour is common among bachelor males, especially with a current shortage of females in Flinders Bay but that should change in the hours and days ahead as more females arrive. The bachelor males attention often shifts to other distractions, including us. Gentle yet cheeky, they manoeuvred closely around our boat, and the youngest among them showed off an impressive tail lob on our bow before moving to the stern for some flirty pec slapping. They could hardly get any closer as their enormous frames glided alongside us. We were delighted to witness just how robust they all appeared; this summer’s feeding season has treated them well, and they will need every bit of blubber for the migration ahead.
The Humpback Whales migration is one of nature’s most remarkable phenomena, representing a journey that spans thousands of miles across the oceans. These majestic creatures migrate annually between their feeding grounds in colder waters and their breeding grounds in warmer tropical environments with the young bachelor males we met today ready for the highly competitive breeding season ahead. Today we had their attention but soon they will be purely focused on pursuing female Humpback Whales as the females begin to arrive in larger numbers in the days and weeks ahead, we cannot wait!
