Spring has sprung with the whales celebrating the start of the new season with a rather spectacular body lunge! It was a lovely morning after a storm front had rolled through during the evening but you could never tell with the calm conditions as we made our way out to the sighting grounds. Our first whale for the morning was a very thin adult moving quietly and appeared to be looking for a suitable place to rest. It is always sad to see Humpback Whales looking so thin, but it is a big part of their journey to rely on their fat reserves to sustain them when away from the feeding grounds of Antarctica. Although thin, this particular whale was in good spirits and we decided to only spend a short time before making our way out to the other pods congregating in the sighting grounds.
A few pods were about but it was the pod of three enormous adults who appeared to be having the most fun. Rolling and chasing after each other, we watched on and it made us smile to see them having so much fun together. The southern migration is a great time for these whales to enjoy a bit of fun as they have some time in-between travelling and resting to interact with some friends. One of them in particular was very boisterous with noisy trumpets on every surfacing that echoed out in the still morning conditions. It was this same whale that decided it was time to celebrate with an enormous body lunge which was well described (and captured!) by Pod Member Katie as a bodyslam! It was absolutely spectacular, so loud and so close that it captured us all by surprise and was quickly followed by a head lunge. A very special way to celebrate the first of spring and a memory we will always treasure, spring has sprung!
