Fremantle Winter Whale tours was busy on the migration path today as many pods were northbound with a good number of cheeky bachelor males on the march. A very still morning with a cosy rain shower moved through early but soon after departing the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour it cleared and on the horizon pods were on the move. It is a busy time for the northern migration as many hundreds of Humpback Whales are still travelling past the Perth coastline everyday. A steady pace will ensure that these Humpback Whales will achieve between one hundred to three hundred kilometres per day in their focused efforts of moving north to warmer waters.
Amongst the pods today we observed a few bachelor pods with the scarring and damaged dorsal fins proud battle wounds from previous migration seasons these males carry with them throughout their lives. This season will see further new scars added as the males work hard to impressive females and deter other male challengers in the weeks and months ahead. A few breaches, tail lobs and tail slaps amongst them indicated these pods were all keeping a close eye on each other and maintaining their preferred reactionary distance. A younger juvenile got caught up in the convergence of adult whales and being less experienced meant this youngster went to the biggest, boldest move it knows in powerful tail lobs. A great way to establish dominance and warn the others to respect this young whales area it was currently moving through but the older bachelor males didn’t take much notice as they cruised past.
