Giant Squid hunt in Bremer Canyon on a thrilling day as the enormous twelve meter Giant Squid raced past us on arrival in The Patch before the Orca chased him all the way to the west in spectacular style! The huge white silhouette first appeared just ahead of us and as we watched the unusual moving object our hearts skipped a beat, this was a Giant Squid moving only a couple of meters below the surface at speed. Jetting to the west, we followed for a little while but this squid was in a hurry as the Orca were only a few hundred meters away and closing in on the area. It was a phenomenal moment to watch this Giant Squid, very rarely sighted as they are creatures of the deep and to see him move with the swell so quickly was astounding. The energy shifted and we could tell the Orca knew he was in the area as they began to surge to the west at high speed and following him as quickly as they could. Family pods including big males Blade, Blackberry, Hookfin and Chalky raced to the west but after a good stretch of time it appeared that the elusive Giant Squid had evaded them. The speed he was moving away from the Orca when we first sighted him on arrival would have been difficult to chase, displaying powerful jet propulsion to the west.
Queen (aka Split Tip) along with Noosa surfaced right alongside us in a friendly greeting as we could see her regrouping everyone with focus. Lifting her fluke up high, Queen forcefully pushed down and her tail slaps caused a chain reaction which continued for the rest of the afternoon. Hookfin surged towards us before rolling over on our port side and showing off his beautiful big belly before an inverted tail slap sent white water flying. He was intently curious towards us as he exhaled below the surface, creating a stunning display of bubbles captured on our GoPro. Breaching continued and tail slapping too as he returned to us repeatedly and welcomed us into the afternoons exciting activities. Pod member Chalky had been listening in to all the surface action and responded in his own truely spectacular way. Launching his entire body weight clear of the ocean below, Chalky was airborne! Breaching over and over again as he called out to his family pod who returned the call as the calves breached back in response. A truely breathtaking day as the wild of the Southern Ocean and the magnificent wildlife that calls these waters home never cease to amaze us and every day we have the opportunity to learn more and appreciate every moment.
