The Margaret River Whale Watching season is in full flight as today over sixty Humpback Whales moved through Flinders Bay as competition pods erupted. Enormous male Humpback Whales had arrived this morning and were full of energy and testosterone as they searched the bay for available females. Today they were in luck as two females were calling out to the boys with breaching to gain their attention above the commotion of a bay full of whales. It worked as the boys beelined the females and soon the girls found themselves surrounded by suitors. Achieving the first objective of attracting attention towards themselves it was now time to get the boys working hard and take them on big chase through Flinders Bay. The reason female Humpback Whales will want the males to chase after them in this way is to assist in determining who is the fittest, smartest male amongst the group.
It is challenging for the the boys to keep up with the girls as the constant changing of direction and speed is not easy, especially when you are surrounded by many other males. The boys need to read the play and know when a female is going to pivot and be able to move at the same time with her so as not to get left behind. The males located further back in the competition have a bigger challenge again as their vision is limited with all of the white water, bubbles and flukes flying at high speeds. The females challenge the males and only those who can keep up will be in the race to win the competition. It is the essence of the northern migration this behaviour and a joy to observe each season as the Humpback Whales show such incredible strength and agility.
