Perth Canyon Blue Whale tours operate during autumn as we enjoy spending time with the Blue Whales in one of the largest submarine canyons in the southern hemisphere. It has been a lovely weekend out on the water with picture perfect conditions as the calm autumn weather and mild temperatures have all who are out on the Indian Ocean enjoying every moment. Cruising past Rottnest Island we were surrounded by the local Bottlenose Dolphins who came charging over and were in a hurry as they porpoised past. A behaviour we often see amongst the Orca as they will also charge towards the location where pod members have called out, generally it is associated with breakfast having been found! A large gathering of Shearwaters and Albatross were working frantically along the oceans surface as Skipjack Tuna leapt amongst the diving seabirds who were also feeding away on a dead fish they had found. It was clear that the activity in the area was increased and sure enough an enormous blow appeared as amongst the action a giant Blue Whale surfaced. A different individual from our previous sightings so far this year it was exciting to meet this Blue as two other individuals were also observed feeding nearby.
Shortly after the first surfacing a commotion at the surface approached the Blue Whale and it was very exciting to see that Risso Dolphins had arrived! A unique member of the dolphin family, Risso’s have plenty of scarring on their bodies due to their preferred prey of squid and much boisterous interaction with other pod members. The resulting scratches scar white with the older members of each pod almost appearing completely white which was very noticeable in the deep water of the Perth Canyon today. The light bounced off their bodies and reflected the white scars vibrantly as they moved past us with curiosity while also checking in on the Blue Whale. Wishing them well we continued on with our beautiful Blue who was displaying feeding dives and a few resting periods throughout the day. Capturing good ID images we were also able to document the fluke of this individual as well which is a handy addition to the catalogue. Another highlight for the weekend were the very acrobatic and enthusiastic Spinner Dolphins putting on an incredible display as they pirouetted and swivelled through the air in style. A couple of individuals were sporting fresh Cookie Cutter Shark bite wounds which will thankfully heal in time but leave a large wound in the meantime.
