What a whale of a day

Mon, 10 Jul 2017

By Eco Ranger Tessa

Whale a whale of a day!

Another outstanding whale watch today on the Tangalooma Jet. As we headed out, we were greeted by whale blows on the horizon to the north, south and east of us.

As we approached one pod of whales, they seemed really relaxed, although they still put on an amazing display of tail slaps, breaching and pectoral slaps. One of the whales even rolled on its back and gently slapped the surface of the water with its pectoral flippers, so we all got a good look at its ventral pleats.

Ventral pleats are the creases that run vertically down the underside of a whale's jaw all the way to its stomach. When feeding, the ventral pleats expand the mouth area and increase up to 3 times their normal size as they take in large gulps of water filled with krill or small fish that they filter through their baleen plates.

Humpback whales do not have teeth, they have up to 280-350 baleen plates instead which hang from their top jaw and are approx 1 metre in length and act to catch their food as the water filters through them. It's kind of like pouring water through a straw broom, anything in the water will be left on top of the broom.

Tangalooma Whale Watching

Save 30% ticket prices by booking 14+ days in advance

About the author

Eco Ranger Tessa

Tessa is one of the many Eco Rangers at Tangalooma Island Resort's Marine Education and Conservation Centre. Tessa often joins in on the Whale Watching Cruise as the on board Eco Ranger commentator.

Book Now