It was a very moody morning with overcast skies and a slight cool breeze as we made our way towards the Humpback Whales sighting grounds. As we approached the area Jydee spotted a resting mum and calf just taking it easy and getting some rest before they had to leave. White water was spotted ahead with a little splash one after the other and as we approached the area we found a cheeky and energetic male calf tail slapping. He was also doing a very good job at his inverted tail slapping where they will lay on their back and lift their fluke towards the belly which is perfect for identifying if the calf is a male or female. It was a great opportunity to confirm that this was a male calf and a very curious and cheeky one at that! Mum was absolutely stunning with an all black fluke and very dark features where the male calf was more a of a classic West Australian Humpback markings of a white belly and dark back, he must have gotten his looks from dad.
It was a lovely time spent with these two with the calf playing around on the surface with tail slapping, breaches, and head lunges. Mum then came over for a good look as she circled us with there little one providing a very close and intimate encounter which was the perfect way to say our goodbyes to this beautiful pod. Our midday tour was set to be a special one as we departed the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour and sighted white water on the horizon. Arriving in the area we could see it was highly likely that this little calf had just recently enjoyed a feed of milk and the energy was now flowing! Yet another big, beautiful male calf who was breaching over and over again until he launched only a few meters from our bow, you could see his eye wide open looking straight back at us. He circled our boat with mum and breached right of the back of the boat on our stern so close you could feel a little spray come from the splash!
Our crew and pod members were absolutely delighted to be welcomed into this pod and have both mum and calf so interested in us and the calf incredibly surface active so very close. It is a wonderful sign of the little ones confidence at such a young age and much trust in us, we certainly felt very grateful. Mother whale also joined in on the fun and threw in a few tail lobs of her own, we saw white water further out as another pod of whales responded to the sound they were hearing from the pod closest to us. It was wonderful to see this behaviour so late in the season with only a few days to go, it makes us miss them even more because we will have to wait until May next year before we see them again. Must make the most of our time we have left to enjoy these precious Humpback Whales of Western Australia, they are simply the best!
