The Humpback Whale tail lob was on perfect display today as we were surrounded by over twenty whales at varying distances all performing their version of the Humpback Whale tail lob. Our morning started peacefully with two large adults who had been resting quietly and as we waited for that next resurfacing a powerful exhale erupted just meters from the bow, they had come over to investigate us. Happy with what they found, these two lovely whales continued to slowly swim towards Rottnest Island as we observed a few breaches on the horizon and suddenly our big male escort launched into a powerful tail lob. Pivoting their head down and using the long pectorals for momentum, the lower half of the body is launched skywards as the fluke and peduncle leave the ocean momentarily before crashing down in a mighty splash of white water.
The reason for this males nervousness was an enormous wall of whales charging towards the area. It was incredible, over twenty Humpbacks over a distance of one kilometre were moving into the area and the entire line of whales began to communicate amongst each other. Tail lobs were the theme of the conversation, but rather than dominant tail lobs like our male escort these tail lobs were playful and excited. It was magnificent to watch as tail lob after tail lob exploded all around us as the Language of the Whales was in full flight, they had all arrived in the resting grounds and it was time to party! A juvenile was having an absolute ball as he socialised amongst the adults enthusiastically while the older, mature whales began to converge. A short amount of time later we had twelve big adult whales join together and travel as one, a bit of push and shove from the males resulted in some competitive energy before everyone relaxed and found their pot in the Humpback conga line streaming out towards the Humpback Highway.
