Whale Tales

Mon, 26 Jun 2017

By Eco Ranger Sue

Tail Slaps and Tail Throws

Wow, the sea conditions don’t get any better than today on the Tangalooma whale watching cruise. As we headed out of the Bay  into the beautiful calm blue ocean, we were greeted by 4 pods/groups of whales.

As we were heading over to the whales, a whole group suddenly surfaced right next to the boat. The group appeared to be three  bull whales herding a female as they were milling around the boat and this was totally amazing to see.

A pod of 20 Bottlenose dolphins also joined the whales during this behaviour which was really exciting to see. We then came across another 2 adult whales showing everyone on aboard the Tangalooma Jet just how powerful their tails are by constantly slapping the surface of the water with their tails and also doing tail throws. Tail throws are when the whale thrusts the rear part of its body from the water to the side, striking the water forcefully.

The meaning behind these behaviours are unknown, although tail throws are thought to be a more hostile behaviour. Tail slaps are when the a whale slaps its tail on the surface of the water in its normal position and this is thought to be for communication.

During all of this whale activity, 2 green sea turtles surfaced to see what all the action was about.

About the author

Eco Ranger Sue

For most of us, feeding a wild dolphin is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but for Sue Hassard, the Dolphin Care Manager at Tangalooma Island Resort, preparing dinner and feeding bottlenose dolphins is part of her every working day.

Book Now