Fin Whale escapes Bremer Bay Orca during an incredible pursuit as the high octane hunt resulted in an enormous energy burn and one very fortunate Fin Whale. A cloud cover and cool breeze certainly had us feeling the autumn weather this morning as we arrived in the sighting grounds and within minutes a very large oil slick and diving Shearwaters were observed as Queen and her family had recently completed a Beaked Whale hunt. It was an amazing way to start the morning as all around us Orca fed with members of Kidji and her family pod also participating. Over the last week we have observed the local family pods doing a lot of socialising and enjoying each others company as they travel together. It is this time spent bonding and playing that builds a comradery amongst the families and provides them the opportunity to target large prey and work as one team. The success is then shared and that was exactly what we observed this morning as the two families enjoyed the spoils of a job well done.
The fun continued as the youngsters surged and breached towards us before diving underneath and moving with speed. It was a fun swim as they launched excitedly and it is always much fun to be on the surge with the Orca. Pilot Whales just started to sneak up behind us when the Orca suddenly turned with aggression and launched towards the continental shelf with urgency, something had captured their attention. It was an incredible surge to the shelf as all Orca moved as one and white water was flying with big male and much loved mascot Chalky surging right off our bow. A sensational sight to see and such a thrill, we wondered what was ahead of them that had all of these Orca so very focused. Anticipating something large and with baleen a sudden push of white water which looked like a freight train surged alongside and there was the beautiful creature that the Orca had heard, it was a Fin Whale! Running the gauntlet through these grounds is always going to be high risk for any baleen whale and today this Fin was in the wrong spot at the very wrong time. The surge went up another gear as the Fin Whale swam for its life with multiple Orca bearing down on the distance between themselves and their wanted prey.
Watching it all unfold in front of us we thought back on our previous large Baleen Whale and Orca encounters with one successful hunt and the others a successful escape. The big difference in the way the predation attempts unfolded was in the actions of each Baleen Whale. The one who didn’t make it slowed on many occasions which allowed the Orca an opportunity to cause wounds that slowed it down until it could go no further. The previous Blue Whale escape and Fin Whale escape observed for the first time this season both sighted whales that did not stop moving and continued to race at top speeds away from the Orca. Today this Fin Whale knew exactly what to do and never once stopped or slowed as it propelled to the west with incredible intensity. The multiple Orca did all they could to keep up but as the minutes passed and we were over half an hour into the chase it was clear they were not making good ground on him. One by one they slowed and decided it was not worth the effort as this very resilient and fast Fin Whale managed an incredible escape. It was one of the most thrilling interactions we have been fortunate to observe and since the Orca were sighted feasting on Beaked Whale earlier on in the day it was good to see this Fin Whale make a successful escape. Hopefully we will have the opportunity of meeting this whale again in the future somewhere safe in the Perth Canyon and well away from the powerhouse Orca of Bremer Bay!
