The male Humpbacks journey home to the summer feeding grounds is almost complete for the male Humpbacks of Western Australia. Today we met bachelor pods and an escort pod as weary males cruised down the coastline on a picture perfect morning. Our first interaction was with two enormous adults who were fast asleep and enjoying their Sunday morning sleep in! Long down times would be interrupted by a very gentle surfacing as both adults logged on the surface, saturating their blood with oxygen before returning back to the depths below. The low heart rate meant that they were able to hold their breath for longer and spend a short amount of time on the surface. Each surfacing was so graceful and the perfect symmetry these two whales had was magical as we watched on with perfectly timed double tail dives.
Breaching on the horizon captured our attention as a change of energy was underway just up ahead. Arriving in the area the breaching continued every thirty seconds or so before the final breach landed only a short distance from our bow on the port side! A huge slash was left behind before the pod of three Humpbacks cruised on past our bow. This bachelor pod was on the look out for others and it wasn’t long before another four whales had joined the scene as they gently interacted together. The male Humpbacks journey home to the summer feeding grounds is a long one and we are starting to sight the very last of the males heading back now. They have waited as long as possible to serenade the females further north, but with dwindling fat reserves its time to get a wiggle on down the coastline.
