Mums and bubs were everywhere this morning as multiple pods were relaxing in the resting grounds. A few breaches, tail lobs and tail slaps were observed amongst all the pods as they appeared very reactive with a large ship moving through the shipping channel and a few recreational boats. One pod in particular was very interesting with a mum, calf and male escort with the mothers dorsal fin missing from old injuries. She was a survivor and sometime in her earlier years would have had an intense encounter with Orca and incredibly survived, although during the process she lost her dorsal fin. The calf also had a small amount of Orca teeth rake marks on the fluke which indicated this mum and calf encounter the apex predators but survived the encounter. Perhaps due to mum previous experience she knew exactly what to do during the Orca attack with minimal scarring on the calf indicating the Orca never got too close to the baby for very long. It is amazing to see how these scars can teach us more about the individual life story of these whales and the extraordinary survival story some could tell.
The midday tour started with much excitement as we arrived to multiple pods in close proximity to each other and our arrival seemed to cause a stir. The escort male travelling with one of the mother and calves decided that between us and the other pods there was too much attention for him and it was showtime. Taking to the skies the male launched into enormous head lunges as he displayed his strength and dominance towards all those around and it was incredible! He ended with a huge breach and we certainly knew who was the boss amongst all these pods as he asserted his authority. It was a thrill to see this high energy as the white water was flying amongst the still conditions today and the male escort seemed rather pleased with his work. Moving away from the other pods the mum and calf started to play as the little one wanted to come over for a closer look. The male was not overly pleased, seeming to not want the curious mum and calf to get too close but he wasn’t able to stop them as they closed in on the bow for a closer look.
Our afternoon tour was exciting as shortly after arriving in the sighting grounds we observed two mums and their calves socialising together. It was wonderful to see as all four were tail lobbing, pec slapping and having a rather good time. Slowly moving over towards Rottnest Island they were ready to depart the sighting grounds and were southbound whales. After having spent their time here resting up, they were full of beans as they made their way through the shallow waters and seemed very motivated to get going down the coast this afternoon. It was disappointing to see the recreational vessel traffic returning from Rottnest Island so aggressive and fast around this pod and blatantly breaking the rules and regulations in regards to correct vessel movements around whales.
It is so important to treat our whales with respect, much can be said about the way a society treats their animals and amongst the recreational boats today it was a poor reflection indeed on those individuals. Thankfully, our Pod Members onboard did understand the importance of respecting the whales and were rewarded with an incredible interaction as the mums and the calves continued on with a beautiful display of their surface language. It is special to have the trust of these wild whales and we wished them the safest of journeys ahead for this resilient and patient pod, we certainly were grateful for our time with them all. In life it is important to protect what you love, just as the mother whales protect their calves and the escort males protect their females. Our hope is for everyone to protect and respect the whales of Western Australia, they are a treasure never to be taken for granted and treated with the utmost respect.
