Perth Whale Watch Season 2019 began today with our first tour for the southern Humpback Whale migration taking place! Excited and ready to head out and discover who the first arrivals are for the season, all eyes were scanning. The familiar shapes of Garden Island, Carnac Island and Rottnest Island stretched out on the horizon and Perth City captured the skyline to our right. A call went out to our starboard side and as we all turned to look the distinctive dorsal fin and dive of a Humpback Whale was sighted, the first for Perth Whale Watch Season 2019! This little fellow surfaced a little while later and we smiled to see he was exactly who we were expecting, a yearling Humpback who only recently would have separated from mum. Understandably shy, these young whales are transitions from 24/7 contact with mum from the moment of birth to suddenly needing to make decisions all on their own which can be a daunting task.
Thankfully mum has passed on everything they need to know about the basics of survival and they will be able to continue this learning path over the next 1-6 years until they reach maturity. A beautiful looking yearling, he seemed shy but at the same time we could see the curious body language also taking place towards us so we watched and waited patiently. A loud exhalation erupted behind us and as we turned our heads to look we could see our cheeky yearling only meters from our stern and swimming straight towards us, curiosity got the better of this little one! Comfortable with our company and building in confidence, this yearlong continued to swim circles around us as the investigation took place. A few Bottlenose Dolphins surfaced briefly just up ahead but moved quickly a they were most likely close to capturing their next meal. Wishing our friendly yearling all the very best for the rest of the migration we cruised back to port, how wonderful to have met this special little Humpback Whale!
