The growth of Scarborough Beach is expanding and so has the Humpbacks of Western Australia, never before have we seen so many whales so close to our coastline as we enjoyed Scarborough Highrise Humpbacks today. This year celebrated the 40 year anniversary to the end of whaling in Australia and in only a very short amount of time the Humpbacks of Western Australia have gone from near extinction to the largest population in the world, how remarkable is that! Today we noticed a glimmer on the surface of a small Humpback calf when suddenly mum launched into spectacular head lunges over and over again. Her enormous body landed with a loud thud that could be heard for many kilometres all around and her beautiful frame had the backdrop of Scarborough Beach Highrise.
A large and mature female who seemed to be moving out of the area with speed as a large ship approached her resting zone. Joining with the pod gently it wasn’t long before the mature female had built a trust with us and both mother and calf came over for a closer look. Curiously approaching us and by now having found a suitable spot the mother disappeared below while her calf showed signs of feeding. Circling above mum before swimming straight back down to her and back up again every few minutes was a sure sign this little one was having a good feed. Once dinner time was over they both continued on their way and went into Humpback Whale cruise mode with beautiful fluke dives from mum. A special privilege to enjoy the Scarborough Highrise Humpbacks and watch as not only our city grows but also the strength of the Western Australian Humpback population. This female is one of the strongest and healthiest we have seen so late in the season and her robust calf was also a reflection of her good health. As our coastlines grow it is important that we remember our whale populations are growing too and how exciting to have our whales just off our local beaches!
