Humpback Whales of Perth were cruising today and soaking in the picturesque weather conditions. It was a spectacular day out on the water with no wind, blues skies and our whale friends enjoying their time in the resting grounds. The morning observed a few pods scattered with resting of top priority for many, but two adults decided to snooze underneath us for a little while. Each surfacing had them coming up for a closer inspection of our vessel and a great opportunity to observe every little bump and detail on their enormous bodies. Nearby a commotion had began as a small competition pod of four formed as the boys flirted with the female with some impressive pec slapping. She decided to distract them by making her way directly towards us and came by so closely with all the boys following, a spectacular sight!
The afternoon was just lovely with glassy conditions so clear that we could see the pilchards swimming underneath us while nervously dodging the Gannets and Crested Terns. Sleepy whales were sighted as they enjoyed this picture perfect conditions and while we watched these pods relax a darting movement was sighted which soon revealed itself to be a beautiful Antarctic Minke Whale! A very exciting observation and we haven’t observed a Minke for a little while so were thrilled for the opportunity to see this elusive little Minke. A juvenile Humpback Whale then began to breach nearby to call in a friend, crashing back down into the still ocean conditions. Our last whale was an extremely thin adult who was gently pec slapping and with a missing dorsal fin we wondered if this Humpback was a survivor of a previous entanglement injury. The pectoral fins were stunning on the underside with both a black and white pattern, something we have never seen before and absolutely beautiful!
