Special moments with the Whales off Perth this morning as a mother, calf and their male escort approached us curiously. They were new arrivals along the coast as we joined with them on their travel towards a pocket that would be a suitable resting ground. Looking around we sighted a total of seven pods cruising in the same way past the coast as a new wave of Whales off Perth enjoyed their Sunday morning travels. The male escort was very relaxed with our company and as we grew to know each other they would approach us and come in for a closer look with the calf keenly observing us. The local Bottlenose Dolphins were also busy travelling through the area on the lookout for breakfast.
All three appeared to have been travelling together for a while as they were relaxed and peaceful with each others company, the calf even swam over to the male a couple of times for a quick interaction before travelling back alongside mum. Males will often head down a bit earlier to begin preparations for next season, but this male was taking the opportunity to join with the female on his journey back south to Antarctica. Soon they had arrived further in the resting grounds and we watched carefully as the calf came to a complete stop and hovered above his mum. Circling above her he took three big breathes before diving back down and we knew that it was feeding time for this little one! Three minutes later he popped back up to the surface in the exact same spot and seemed to have a bit of energy about him now that his belly was full. Almost as if to say their goodbyes, mum gently brought her calf towards us and came incredible close as she passed by and the male escort also joined her in the approach. Slowly moving past they had one more look at us before continuing on their journey and we smiled as the calf wriggled his fluke in a tail dive as he “waved” goodbye and a touching moment for us today to see a father and his son spend a moment embracing The Language of the Whales™.
