Blue Whale “tales” in the heart of the Perth Canyon as each Blue Whale we met today told us a little bit about their story. A Blue Whale can live for over sixty years and by documenting individuals we can recognise them when they revisit the feeding grounds and learn more about their story, a Blue Whales “tale”of life. A beautiful Sunday to complete our weekend as the Fremantle Fishing Boat harbour looked more like a lake this morning with not even a ruffle of wind to break the glass off conditions. Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins raced to great us excitedly as they buzzed around our bow before continuing on with their morning foraging. It was a superb day to be out on the water as all eyes scanned for signs of an ocean giant and it wasn’t long before a lofty blow appeared on the horizon. Arriving in the area we watched and waited carefully for the next surfacing as the ocean turned turquoise and a billowing exhale reached over six meters high. A beautiful adult Blue Whale surfaced and seemed relaxed amongst the calm sea while replenishing oxygen levels in preparation for the next dive. To our awe and amazement the round out dive flowed vertically and the enormous seven meter wide fluke lifted gracefully.
A stunning scene to see and today we were spoilt with four more of these mammoth fluke dives from this special Blue Whale. A very curious individual during one of the surfings he swam directly towards our bow before stopping for a little while while curiously looking our way. The power in the exhalation when this close to the worlds largest creatures gives us more of a feel than anything else of just how much power these Blue Whales have. A second Blue Whale was also feeding close by and being a little younger seemed curious enough to approach the adult whale. A third Blue Whale also sighted further into the sighting grounds as the Centre for Whale Research spent time with further Blue Whales as well. A great number to flow on from yesterday and fantastic to see so many individuals feasting on the plentiful krill abundantly available at the moment. Blue Whale tales tell a story of incredible persistence as they travel thousands of kilometres every year to achieve successful migrations and it is always a privilege to spend time in their company and get to know each individual Blue Whales character and personality.
