How to Whale Watch in the waters off Perth is all about understanding the Language of the Whales™, respecting their reactionary distance and matching energy. Today the chilly breeze from yesterday lingered and we scanned the horizon carefully for the telltale signs of whales. The sighting grounds are a vast and open area which can require much focus to seek out what particular area of the sightings grounds the whales have chosen to visit today. Soon after arriving we noticed three pods up ahead, our first interaction was with a mother, calf and male escort. This lovely pod of three were extremely relaxed and casually going about their morning. The calf was very curious and would look back towards us on each surfacing, seeming to be mesmerised by us and wanting to have a closer look. Mother Humpback noticed the curiosity of her calf and decided she would gently bring her calf over to us for a closer investigation as the little one squirmed with excitement. The male escort would lift his beautiful fluke high on every tail dive and seemed pleased that we were not challenging him for his spot as primary escort.
The calf showed us the signs that feeding was taking place and we gently tiptoed away to leave baby to enjoy his meal as we noticed a slight increase of energy just up ahead. Arriving in the area we noticed some powerful tail slapping and it appeared that someone was being challenged. During this situation it is important not to rush over to pods, but take your time and observe what is happening amongst the pods and provide plenty of space for the conversation amongst them to flow. The reason for this increase in energy was a challenging bachelor male who was now charging after the primary escort, rocketing past the bow after lunging up from the depths. The female led them on a chase around and underneath our vessel as she tried to calm the situation. The boisterous boys did settle eventually but all three stayed together, the challenger biding his time to launch another cheeky move to get closer to the female. The lessons observed today were a great example for our guests on how to Whale Watch and the importance of watching every detail of the interaction as the whales are always communicating to us their intentions.
