Humpback mum and calf season peaks from mid October as they are the last of the population to make their way southbound towards Antarctica. A gathering of mums and calves was a lovely sight to see as they settle into the area for a while to rest and feed their babies. There was a lot of reactive activity today as pods would move into the area and the reaction was either positive with breaching and pec slapping or more defensive with tail lobs. Our first pod had one very bouncy and excited calf who was breaching away and calling out to the others in hopes of finding a friend. The other mum and calf pods decided they weren’t ready just yet for playtime as they dispersed from the area and maintained a reactionary distance between each other. Three more pods began to converge and one of the mums rolled over into some very relaxed and friendly pec slapping as her calf joined in with a few cheeky tail lobs.
The other mums approached curiously but decided against playtime as they moved away, one began to rest nearby while the other approached. She surfaced right on our bow with her calf and was teaching her little one an important lesson about using sound footprints. Using noise within your environment to mask the noise you are making is a useful way of maintaining a low profile or approaching another pod without them hearing you as clearly. A very important tactic amongst mums and calves as they often hide from competition pods or bachelor males trying to disappear as they attempt to sneakily approach an escort or competition pod. It has certainly settled into mum and calf season as usually is the case from mid October onwards and it is always a lovely time of the migration especially for our Pod Members who would love to meet a baby Humpback Whale!
