Blue Whale Research in the Perth Canyon as seven Blue Whales gathered to feast throughout the day on plentiful krill in the picture perfect conditions. It was also a perfect day for the Centre for Whale Research and their team currently undertaking this seasons research with the calm conditions providing a fantastic platform for tagging, image identification and behaviour observation. Our first interaction was with a young Blue Whale who was busy making his way through the feeding grounds, long before we knew about the approaching traffic of other whales this youngster was trying to get a head start on lunch! A further two Blues surfaced in the area as we were able to meet these larger adults and their towering exhales that erupted like volcanoes in the calm conditions. A busy day for the Blue Whales who were keen on getting every little bit of krill available as they spent time in the depths in forage mode before resurfacing.
The incredibly vibrant blue that we see on each surfacing is just beautiful, a perfect example as to why they were named Blue Whales. The whales we interacted with today ranged from fourteen through to twenty-three plus metres with a total tally of seven magnificent Blue Whales within the section of the Perth Canyon we were visiting today. As you could imagine it kept the researchers busy with so many Blue Whales within range it can be tricky locating the ideal candidate for tagging but thankfully with a few more individuals around the perfect Blue Whale can be located. Along the flanks of the Blue Whales we could see the distinctive Cookie Cutter Shark bite wounds that have healed along with a few new fresh wounds from their feeding dives here in the canyon. A beautiful day to be out on the water and share some time with the Blue Whales and our Pod Members onboard with some fantastic Blue Whale research being undertaken today as well.
