Competitive Courting
Today was an awesome display of whale socialization, with 13 humpbacks sighted between Comboyuro Point and Cape Moreton. In the calmer waters off of Comboyuro, the whales were making the most of the lazy, calm conditions, with slow surfaces and deep dives. Much to the delight of the guests, one large individual decided that its life ambition was to conduct water aerobics, rolling around continuously for over 20 minutes!
As we pushed out further toward the Cape, the swell picked up and so did the action! The guests were watching intently as one social individual continuously breached and pectoral slapped, signalling to nearby pods. We then witnessed something extraordinary - two pods of submarine sized whales clashed in what seemed to be a competitive display between males for this prior individual. They head lunged and bubble trailed their way past the Cape, heading back south toward Antarctica. Hopefully we get to see the result of this courting interaction in the form of a little calf next season!
In all, the guests seemed to have a whale of a time during this interactive display by these majestic giants and as always so did I.