The Humpbacks of Western Australia are certainly a social group who love to spend time relaxing and enjoying the Western Australian coastal lifestyle. Four friendly individuals were dancing next to our bow as they twisted and turned to show off their best moves. The local Bottlenose Dolphins always seem to know when there is fun to be had and showed up just on time to join in with the social party in a beautiful scene of Humpback Whales and Bottlenose Dolphins enjoying some relax time. The mindset of our south bound Humpbacks of Western Australia is now focused on the nutrient rich waters of Antarctica, the strong urge to head north and find a mate is slowly subsiding. This change of focus now means they have more time to socialise as they wait for the right temperature gate before continuing south and we could see this very social scene today with many Humpbacks all around us.
A young yearling was displaying his strength to a few others with some active peduncle and fluke slapping, possibly in slight frustration as he appeared to be kicked out of the main social group or perhaps he was a little on the shy side as he moved straight towards us to avoid detection from the others. A few distant breaches and head lunges soon caught his attention and he was off once again racing towards the commotion. The Language of the Whales™ is always fascinating to watch with many different pods around as we can easily sight the active decision making happening amongst each whale, should I stay here or head over and say hello? The four individuals who decided to head over and say hello also included us in their social pod which was a privilege to be accepted into their pod as they played alongside our vessel while the Dolphins also joined in on the fun.
