School Holiday Whale Watch today was spectacular as mother and calf Humpback practiced the Language of the Whales™ amongst the cloudy spring haze. The morning was beautiful and our first meeting scheduled for the day was with three adult Humpbacks who were socialising in the shallows. Absolutely enormous and pushing close to the 16 meter length mark, these three were special whales to meet due to their size and maturity. They had a mature poise about them and it felt like we were in ancient company as they meandered through the shallows of the resting grounds. Interested towards us, they would gently approach for a closer look and eventually the escort pod remained as the third individual moved off into the distance. Our friendly local Bottlenose were in foraging mode but still stopped over for a quick hello to enjoy catching up with us on what has been happening since we last met.
The movement of a breaching Humpback calf just ahead captured our attention and it wasn’t long before mum had joined in. Looking closely, we could see who was the most probable cause of the activity as a lone juvenile Humpback slunk away quietly from the area. Perhaps mother and calf had been asleep and resting when this cheeky juvenile gave them a fright. Either way, now that the activity had begun it was a good opportunity for mother Humpback to encourage her calf to practice some behaviours. We watched on as breach after breach continued from baby along with head lunges. Our hearts melted as we watched mum gently lift her pectoral and then wait for her calf to do the same before both landing their pectorals on the surface at the same time. The calf was so excited she would swim along with her mouth wide open trying to fill it with as much water as possible, probably forgetting the head lunge part of the manoeuvre! A privilege to enjoy some special school holiday Whale Watch fun today and meet such a beautiful mother Humpback and her precious calf making the most of the holidays.
