The Humpback Whale pectoral fin is the longest of any species on the planet, up to five meters and one thousand kilograms in weight! It was a gorgeous morning out on the water with a calm sea, blue sky and many Humpback Whales. Our first pods of mums and bubs were enjoying a morning snooze as they rested quietly but one young mum and her calf decided they were in the mood to play as mum breached and pec slapped to attract attention their way. No takers appeared for the social invite so instead this mum came over to us with baby leading the way, a very confident calf! It was clear to see this was a younger mum due to her smaller sizer and the dynamics between these young mums and their calves is always interesting. The two were excited to meet us as they swam so very close and in circles around our vessel, enjoying the social interaction they had been looking for earlier.
It Was also interesting to watch a commotion amongst four seperate pods as the mother whales launched into big breaches and we had a suspicion there may have been shark activity in the area. Our midday tour also observed multiple moms and calves around but the stars of the show were a bachelor pod of three males. Launching into breaching and pec slapping it was clear this pod were interested in a social time as they made the call out to others nearby. The boys continued to cruise their way towards Rottnest Island and were pec slapping as they went with plenty of noisy trumpets unfolding along the way. One male also showed damage to his fluke as an old entanglement injury has left its mark but thankfully he is a happy, healthy Humpback moving with ease and showing off his tail slaps. It was great to spend some time with them all on such a beautiful day to be out on the water, a cool breeze still lingered but summer time is definitely just around the corner.
