Humpback calf sighted off Perth this morning, a very exciting moment as it is our first mother and calf pod for the southbound migration 2021. A cool breeze ruffled over the oceans surface and we scanned carefully for signs of activity. Grace called the first sighting as a breach to our port side was spotted and we made an approach towards the area. A very quiet pod of two juveniles were sighted in migration mode and heading with speed and efficiency towards Rottnest Island. It was interesting to see just how focused these young whales were and we wished them well on their long journey yet ahead of them. A very good spot from our Captains Lounge guest as she sighted another pod in the sunshine as we all watched carefully for the next surfacing.
A short time later small ruffling on the waters surface was directly in front of us as three Humpback Whales appeared and began moving straight towards us with interest. A mother, her darling calf and a cheeky male escort were coming our way and intent on investigating our vessel. Mother whale was incredible as she calmly approached our bow with her calf carefully balanced on her back only centimetres from the surface. The tiny calf was adorable and looked with wide eyes up towards us, fascinated with everything that this little one was seeing for the first time. Incredibly this calf is an Orca attack survivor as we could see numerous teeth rake marks left behind and indentations on the skin where the Orca had bitten down. These incredible calves are resilient and even when face to face with their main predator this little fighter was able to survive. It is of course with the help of mother whale and possibly a male escort to help in these situations, an incredible story of survival already for this brand new addition to the WA Humpback Whale population.
