Peduncle Slaps have been sighted on many of our tours over the last week and this amazing behaviour is very impressive with all age groups of Humpback Whales but the more mature the whale the bigger is the resulting splash! We joined a pod of three amigos today as they travelled across Flinders Bay and these three whales were in fantastic health and full of energy. The largest individual demonstrated a perfect Peduncle Slap and you can see how they pivot their head down and then throw their peduncle and tail fluke into the air creating a very loud noise on the surface that other whales can hear from many kilometres away.
We are starting to see the arrival of a few larger and more mature Humpbacks into the bay which is fantastic as we anticipate the arrival of the breeding age male and female Humpback Whales. Also sighted on many Humpbacks arriving in the bay is the yellowish algae that grows happily on the skin of whales while they are in Antarctica but quickly disappears once the whales have moved into warmer waters, similar to a day at the spa! These algae covered whales have only just arrived from their feeding grounds and we love meeting them in Flinders Bay, their first sighting of land after a 2,000 nautical mile journey.
