Social Humpback competition pods it was all about today as on both our morning and midday tour we observed the busy movements of multiple whales converging and socialising. It is late in the season for these adults whales who do not have any attachment to a calf to slow their migration. Instead these whales are some of the first who made the migration nothing so have been travelling along our coastline for longer than others who arrived later such as the pregnant females. The males have been competing for a number of months now and for many of the whales they have not eaten a thing since April/May this year. It is an extraordinary achievement as they push themselves to the extreme and leave us in awe at their ability to travel so far and still maintain a suitable amount of blubber for the last stretch of their journey home.
A large amount of weight has been lost but these whales are still showing effort and energy in every interaction they have with others, especially if they are bachelor males. Today the boys were busy as they joined with others and all this converging and mixing of pods resulted in much interesting interactions and commotions which we were able to watch unfold. Some whales were more dominant than others and keen for a competition but others were more interested in social time as they swam together happily. The time spent in these resting ground will be efficient and generally we don’t see these adults stay for any more then twenty four hours. Should the males wish to remain in the resting grounds they will increase their likelihood of meeting a female, either with or without a calf, and they will aim to become her escort for the remaining migration south. A beautiful day out on the water observing these social Humpback competition pods.
