Southern Right Whales

  • Peale’s Dolphins & Right Whales

    Peale’s Dolphins & Right Whales

    We’re ​working ​with ​Southern ​Right Whales ​here. ​And, ​you ​know, Right ​Whales ​are, ​​well, ​as ​their ​name ​suggests, ​they’re ​pretty ​easy ​to ​study ​and ​very ​amenable ​​to ​that. ​So ​we ​were ​out ​in ​our ​boat, ​I ​think ​there ​was ​three ​right ​whales ​on ​this ​time, ​just ​lazing ​at ​the ​surface. ​And ​they ​were ​pretty ​quiet, ​which ​was ​great ​because ​it ​meant ​that ​we ​have ​a ​lot ​of ​opportunity ​to ​approach ​to ​get ​photo ​identification ​shots ​of ​their ​heads ​and ​collect ​some ​tissue ​samples. ​ ​So ​I ​was ​feeling ​pretty ​happy ​that ​the ​animals ​were ​behaving ​quietly ​and ​nicely. ​And ​then, ​of ​course, ​a ​pod ​of ​Peale’s ​dolphins ​arrived ​and ​immediately ​​the ​right ​whales ​became ​super ​agitated ​and ​animated ​and ​the ​Peale’s ​dolphins ​were ​swimming ​round ​and ​round ​and ​round ​them ​and ​the ​boat ​and ​then ​doing ​ridiculous ​jumps. ​ And ​then ​we ​had ​as ​usual, ​the ​upside ​down ​tail ​slapping, ​which ​they ​decided ​to ​do ​in ​front ​of ​the ​boat. ​And ​right ​in ​the ​face ​of ​the ​right ​whales,  ​It ​was ​really ​undignified ​and ​the ​right ​whales ​were ​really ​not ​impressed.  ​And ​that ​was ​the ​end ​of ​data ​collection ​for ​the ​right ​whales ​because ​after ​that, ​they ​were ​so ​agitated ​and ​yeah, ​playing ​around ​with ​the ​right, ​with ​the ​Peale’s ​dolphins. ​ So ​it ​wasn’t ​a ​great ​for ​data ​collection, ​but ​it ​was ​really ​nice ​to ​look ​at ​that ​interaction. ​And, ,​it ​did ​leave ​us ​all ​with ​a ​big ​smile ​on ​our ​faces. In ​many ​ways, ​Peale’s ​are ​like ​real ​life ​Disney ​characters ​because ​their ​colouration ​pattern ​and ​they ​have ​this ​dark ​face, Peale’s Dolphins. ​It’s ​one ​of ​their ​characteristic ​features ​that ​their ​face ​and ​their ​chin ​is ​sort ​of ​a ​dusky ​black ​in ​coloration. ​And ​it ​just ​means ​that ​when ​they’re ​doing ​ ​naughty ​things ​and ​curious ​things, ​you ​can ​kind ​of ​see ​the ​whites ​around ​their ​eyeballs ​really ​vividly ​because ​the ​black. ​So, ​they’re ​always, ​​they ​always ​give ​that ​impression ​of ​being, yeah, ​just ​popped ​out ​from ​a ​Disney ​movie. -Caroline This post was adapted from a voice recording in episode 71 of the Whale Tales Podcast, listen here.

  • Mum I’m Hungry – 29/9/21

    Spotted this Mother Southern right whale feeding up Bub in the shallows. This southern Right Whale and calf was hugging the coastline just north of Perth they stayed close for almost a week , appeared to be feeding up the calf in the calm shallower waters The calf can drink up to 600 litres of…

  • Augusta Wildlife Safari – 28/7/22

    Augusta Wildlife Safari – 28/7/22

    Augusta Wildlife Safari on a beautiful winters morning as we enjoyed the company of a Southern Right Whale mother, calf and aunty, a Humpback mother and calf, Bottlenose Dolphins and cheeky Fur Seals. The mother Humpback Whale launched into a couple of huge breaches and her young calf quickly followed enthusiastically to copy mum. The…

  • Southern Right Whale Season – 6/8/22

    Southern Right Whale Season – 6/8/22

    Southern Right Whale Season has begun in Augusta as today we enjoyed the company of four mother and calf pods along with a few social adults. A beautiful winters morning was enjoyed as the peaceful conditions were a refreshing change after the last week of stormy weather. The distinctive surfacing of an adult Southern Right…

  • Southern Right Whales in Augusta – 7/8/22

    Southern Right Whales in Augusta – 7/8/22

    Southern Right Whales in Augusta are starting to gather in good numbers as we see this endangered species take over Flinders Bay. A beautiful morning greeted us and as we departed the Augusta Boat Harbour all eyes scanned carefully for the distinctive surfacing of whales. A large, muffled blow appeared which was quickly followed by…