Whale Escort Pods are fascinating to observe and this time of year we can see mothers and calves being escorted down the coastline by protective males. Today a plume of white water appeared just up ahead and as we slowly approached we noticed one.. two… three Humpback Whales! Although the majority of male Humpbacks have already returned south towards Antarctica in September, there is still many around who are looking to join with a female Humpback. Humpback Whale escort pods are an important part of the southern migration as it ensures some of the females have extra protection on the journey south and a small percentage of mothers who have calves this season will also fall pregnant again this year. Our escort pod we had joined was with a very relaxed mother and calf while the male was handsome with unique markings.
He was trying his best to show off to his female by twisting and turning to keep her attention, but the more she moved towards us the grumpier he was! A few tail lobs, bubble veils and loud trumpet exhalations displayed his desire for “his” female not to swim away with us and we all had a little bit of a giggle at this males boisterous displays. The female did not seemed at all concerned with the fuss and continued to check us out before moving into the resting grounds with her protective male escort following close behind. A few mother and calf pods moved past close by including a curious calf who spent a while playing with seaweed on the surface, how much fun that was for her! Finally we met one last escort pod who were cruising past and decided to come over and check out our vessel as baby gently swam past on mums back. A beautiful day with the company of beautiful whales and our wonderful Pod Members!
