Perth Canyon Blue Whales are currently feasting on the plentiful krill which can be found and today we enjoyed the company of two big Blues feeding alongside each other. A light morning breeze ruffled the waters surface as we made our way out towards the sighting grounds and on our arrival we began to scan amongst the panning Shearwaters and Albatross for our majestic Blue Whales. A tall and lofty blow appeared and on our approach we were very excited to see not just one enormous Blue but a second. Re-oxygenating at the surface and preparing for their next feeding dive we watched carefully as each Blue took its time before rounding out gracefully into the depths below. The downtimes were efficient as they quickly returned to the surface and repeated the process methodically, it is such a calm and peaceful experience to witness a feeding Blue Whale in the wild. It was good to see both Blues feeding in the same area throughout the day and we were able to spend time with both individuals and collect valuable identification images. A quick visit from a small pod of Spinner Dolphins was exciting to see as they approached us for a friendly greeting before continuing on with their foraging.
The population of Pygmy Blue Whales in Australian waters is estimated to be around 2,000 individuals which is a very small number and makes every sighting extremely special. The numbers appear to be increasing slowly but further research is needed to better understand the population size and birthing rate. To witness a baby Blue Whale a couple of days ago is encouraging and gives us much hope for the future of this population as every individual counts. It was a fantastic day with these Blues who were very relaxed, especially the larger individual who would surface and swim directly towards us curiously for a closer look before resuming the re-oxygenation process before another graceful round out dive. Wishing them well we had one last surprise and we were all so very excited, a short distance from the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour the unmistakable back of a Humpback whale appeared! It was a yearling who would have recently separated from its mum and will be one of the first few Humpback Whales this far north on the WA coastline. The little one was relaxed and keeping a low profile as he or she explored the waters they would have visited back in Spring 2024 with their mum. Our team were thrilled to see this little one and now are all extremely excited for the Humpback season to begin in Augusta in the next few weeks!
