Rottnest Whales today as multiple Humpback Whale pods traversed the busy waters surrounding Rottnest Island as they continued with their southbound migration. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water with a big blue sky and calm conditions as we made our way towards the sighting grounds. Multiple pods surfaced close to Rottnest Island as they slowly moved towards the channel which is very much like the departure lounge for the resting grounds. It was exciting to meet our first pod who very quickly began to swim alongside us and we recognised one of these whales from yesterday. It was our Orca attack survivor with the distinctive scarring along the dorsal fin and peduncle. It is always fantastic to meet these whales when they first arrive in the resting grounds and meet them again as they are departing to get a better understanding of how long each age group tends to spend in these waters before continuing south.
Wishing them both well for the journey ahead we joined a second pod of four bachelor males who were curious and excited as they socialised together. Nestled in close to Rottnest Island it was going to be a challenge for this pod not to attract too much unwanted attention from passing recreational vessels moving at high speeds. A couple of boats did begin to chase after the pod and it was a good example to our Pod Members onboard the difference between observing behaviour as we had been compared to influencing the whales behaviour as the recreational boats began to do so by moving to fast and aggressively around the whales. Eventually they did depart and it was a big relief for the four bachelor males who could now relax and continue their social interaction which was wonderful to see. Exploring the shallow waters surrounding Rottnest Island they began to move out to deeper water after a while and it was good to see them moving away still all traveling together and enjoying each others company.
