Rottnest Island Humpback Whale Tours were exciting today with many whales moving through the sighting grounds. A refreshing cool breeze ruffled the surface as we made our way out to the sighting grounds and soon we could see multiple blows and lots of tiny calves! It is such a lovely time of the year as mums and their babies fill the sighting grounds and this morning we observed over thirty mum and bubs in the sighting grounds. Amongst the pods we observed plenty of mums catching up on some much needed rest while others had already completed that task and were taking on the opportunity to socialise with other mums and calves nearby. The local Bottlenose Dolphins made a brief appearance as they played together with the Humpback Whales and it was encouraging to see just how content and happy all the little family pods were in the sighting grounds.
It appeared there were not as many bachelor males around as yesterday afternoon which kept the mums happy but we wondered if that would change during our midday tour as further pods arrived in the sighting grounds. The afternoon tour was a very different change of pace as the mums and calves kept a low profile as they rested nearby and the adults took over the sighting grounds. Numerous pods gathered as the bachelor boys caused some fuss as they pursued some of the females and escort pods gathering in the area. Breaching, tail lobs and pec slapping was observed both far and wide as the whales kept busy in the Language of the Whales which flowed strongly amongst the pods. It was fantastic to watch on as a competition pod formed with trumpeting and jostling for position closest to the female while a more social pod formed nearby with plenty of repeated pec slapping combined with breaching and dominant tail lobs. It was an another busy and wonderful day observing the Humpback Whale migration and we were thrilled to be part of the energy and fun.
