Return of the gentle giants

As the days become cooler, one of the longest mammal migrations is just warming up!  The first humpback whales have been spotted off the Victorian coastline; whale blows and breaches were sighted off Ocean Grove, Cape Schanck, Cape Woolamai and Wilsons Prom.

Our captain, crew and enthusiastic whale spotters on Phillip Island have been keeping a good lookout to get the first glimpses of these magnificent ocean dwellers as they start their impressive journey up north to warmer waters.

The local whale watching season in Victoria is from May to November, with peak number of sightings off Phillip Island during June and July.

The annual migration of these gentle giants is set in motion by a drop in water temperature in the Antarctic feeding grounds. After their summer feeding frenzy on krill in Antarctic waters, most humpback whales will now be heading to warmer waters to mate and give birth. 

There are currently 14 distinct populations of humpback whales around the world. There are two Australian populations, one that follows the east coast, and one that follows the west coast. While these whales would mix in Antarctic feeding grounds, they primarily follow the same migratory route, except for the rare occasions when a whale joins the neighbouring pod.

From our whale fluke cataloguing research we recently had a re-sighting of a whale sighted off Seal Rocks on 5^th July 2024 (pictured above), on its northerly migration, then sighted seven months later off Balleny Islands, Antarctica. Image taken by our citizen scientist Andrew Young on board the Arafura Pearl.

That’s 3300kms away! (Not including the thousands of kilometres it would have done going north still)

It is hard not to be in awe of these incredible creatures. Book now for a cruise this winter, to witness one of the greatest animals journeys of our oceans!