Whales breaching in the rain and having a marvellous time today as magnificent rainbows spread out across Flinders Bay. A winter wonderland type of day as rain showers moved through and the whales made the most of their fresh water shower with full bodied breaching sighted on both our morning and afternoon experiences. The morning sighted Humpbacks all around us and an enormous female began to breach as another male approached, much to the annoyance of her male escort who was not at all pleased with the challenger! The chase quickly followed as the female moved through the bay and the two males followed carefully, sizing each other up and showing off their size. A few peduncle lobs from the most dominant male settled things down and he eventually retained his position as the primary escort for this female… for now at least.
The afternoon sighted whales breaching once again and this time it was attention seeking breaching as the first female called out to those around her. A few big pec slaps were also thrown in to get the word out but unfortunately for her the other pods around were escort pods, males already travelling with a female companion. She seemed happy to have at least captured our attention and came over to say hello before moving off through the abalone farm. A few more escort pods were hanging out underneath the beautiful rainbow and then we noticed large plumes of white water up ahead, the conversations had begun again. A younger female who was most likely 2-8 years of age began to call out to the boys, launching into effortless breaching over and over again. She was just beautiful with her jet black back and pretty multicoloured belly, showing off he nice and healthy figure with a very good layer of blubber on (it is a compliment to call a whale fat!). A young whale looking this healthy and round is fantastic, it shows she has been feeding well in Antarctica and will soon reach adulthood size and maturity in a few years time.
