The Blue Whales of Rottnest Island and their visits are a truely magnificent sight and today the unmistakable tall exhalation of the largest creature on our planet shot into the sky and had us all singing, “Blue Whale!”.
A big, beautiful Blue surfaced just ahead and we watched as the streamlined body and mottled grey tones slipped through the Indian Ocean with ease.
They are one of the most incredible whale species to spend time with and just to meet one in your lifetime is a privilege, that is why we were smiling from ear to ear today as our guests ranged in age from 70+ to 2 years old.
The visiting Blue Whales of Rottnest Island are also migrating south this time of year as they journey towards the coastlines off southern Australia to spend the summer feeding on krill and consuming in excess of 3.5+ tonnes per day. Our Pygmy Blue Whale was in migration mode as he calmly cruised past Rottnest Island providing very special views of the lighthouses and his enormous mottled grey frame.
It is easy to fall in love with a Blue Whale, their gentle nature and graceful movements through the water can disguise their immense power. Still fighting back from the nearness of extinction, every Blue is a vitally important part of the population recovery. Today ID images were captured and we observed the Language of the Blue Whale™ travelling with migration on his mind as he quickly covered vast distances in a short amount of time. Unlike Humpback Whales who don’t feed for many months, our Blues must travel from one feeding ground to the next to ensure survival. Looking slim, this Blue must make his way to the feeding grounds quickly to continue feeding and the sooner the better. Wishing him well and celebrating a special moment in everyone’s lives onboard, today was the day we could all now say we have met one of the largest creatures to have ever existed, a Blue Whale… now how special is that!
-Whale Watch Western Australia
This post was adapted from a blog, read the original here
Leave a Reply