Morning Whale Watch
Fremantle Whale Tours departed today as we made our way towards pods of Humpback Whale mothers and calves making the most of their time in the resting grounds. It was a lovely morning and as we arrived towards one pod of whales a second surfaced just ahead of them as both little Humpback families made their way towards Rottnest Island. It was great to see them all looking so well and enjoying the morning sunshine as each pod ensured they kept a comfortable distance from the others. During their southern migration resting and calf feeding is most important and neither of these can be achieved when they are interaction with other whales. Finding a perfect spot to rest in can be tricky but once found the mothers can settle in for a while with their calves before further pods begin to swim towards them. Socialising is also a big part of the southbound migration with the mother whales picking just the right time and duration for these playtime sessions. The calves just love getting other whales and it is fantastic to see their enthusiasm to exploring and learning as they make the long trek south towards Antartica for the first time.
Afternoon Whale Watch
The afternoon breeze had settled in and as we arrived in the resting grounds multiple pods surfaced and were on the move. One pod in particular caught our attention as the jet black bellied calf breached and head lunged repeatedly. It was spectacular to see in the afternoon sunshine as the little one revelled in practicing these behaviours as mother whale powered along. The pod they were communicating towards responded with a few tail lobs of their own as they indicated dominantly they weren’t interested in a social interaction. The mother whale decided to swim our way instead and remained close to us as we noted her calf began to feed. The feeding dinner dive is always a giveaway that the calves are enjoying a feed of milk and our hungry bub had three big dives so was enjoying a very long feed! All that breaching is hard work so a good meal was well deserved as the mother whale used our sound footprint to hide in from the other pods close to us. She was a very beautiful Humpback Whale and had the most incredible fluke, her calf has definitely taken on mums dark features and she will be a wonderful addition to our catalogue.
