Humpback Whale Spy Hop off Hillarys

Curious by nature our migrating Humpback Whales will often perform a behaviour known as a spy hop when wanting to establish what is happening just above the surface. This is true for all age groups and today after watching a young Humpback calf practice her pectoral slaps she then decided to stop and have a good look at us as she carefully raised her head above the sea and we could clearly see her eye looking right back at us! Happy with her discovery she then continued to show off to her many admirers.

Earlier on our journey we met a second mother and calf pod who were both enjoying some time with a pod of playful Bottlenose Dolphins. Both mother and calf were twisting and turning to keep up with the agile dolphins and it is always a very special encounter to see these two separate species get on so well. The female seemed to be having just as much fun as her calf and although the size difference between an adult Humpback and an adult Bottlenose Dolphin is enormous, both were very gentle towards each other and it is these calm manners the young calf was also learning all about in todays interaction.

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