Fremantle Humpback Whale Watching Tours today as our morning tour sighted three seperate mum and calf pods moving through the sighting grounds either some very healthy babies amongst the mix. One pod in particular was very special as we recognised the shark bite tail fluke of the male escort late yesterday afternoon and he had to our great interest left the female he had been travelling with and instead joined with this mum and calf. The pod cruised along and baby had the best time breaching in the rain before practicing some tail lobs and head stands much to our amusement! All this belly showing gave us the opportunity to confirm we had a male calf here and he was getting tips from the escort as the adult showed him how to perform the perfect tail lob as the calf mimicked the movement over and over again. A very special way to start our morning in the cosy pitter patter of rain and happy Humpback Whales.
Our midday tour started with familiar faces as our first pod was the same mum, calf and escort as this morning who seemed to be happy to see us as they approached. The calf started to roll and play at the surface again and it was lovely to see him having some fun. Wishing them well to continue on with their afternoon we moved onto our next pod which was an escort male and his girl. Graceful pec slaps were observed as the female seemed social and was calling out for further company but with no response the male escort launched into a powerful tail lob to claim the area around them as his own. Our final pod for this busy day was yet another mum, calf and male escort who appeared to be new arrivals as they travelled quickly through the sighting grounds. After a couple of cheeky tail lobs from her calf the pod settled and it seemed they were now ready to rest so we tiptoed away and wished them well for their afternoon relax.
A cosy cloud cover disappeared briefly for our afternoon tour as we sighted a resting mum and calf who were keeping a low profile from a nearby competition pod that had formed. Four whales became three as two males charged after the female who led them on a chase in circles around us and nearby channel markers. It was exciting to watch as the whales each other enthusiastically and the female used us and the marker as a distraction to slow up the males and after a while she eventually managed to settle the competition. The challenger departed and left the female and her male escort to settle in for a rest after much energy spent this afternoon in the high pace chase. A nearby mum and calf then ventured over for a closer look at us, they seemed very curious as they circled around before mum decided she was happy with this area for a snooze and to prepare for the evening ahead. It was a wonderful way to complete a very busy day with the mums and bubs as plenty of adults are still moving through in good numbers.
