Whale from WA in Victoria 31 years later!

Very exciting new finding! An adult humpback whale sighted in 1992 off the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, was spotted off Wilsons Promontory 31 years later… making this individual, WA0403, the oldest resighting we have in our records!

We recently sighted this same whale again, almost at the exact same location, and nearly to the day a year since we last saw it. Three months ago, this whale was also recorded off Sydney, on its northerly migration.

These glimpses into the whale migration have been made possible by taking photographs of the whale flukes on board our cruises. Recording and monitoring humpback whales on the global Happywhale database puts the pieces of the puzzle together, helping us understand a little more about the incredible journeys the humpback whales go on annually. 

Whale flukes are great monitoring clues, as they are unique and remain pretty much unchanged over time. The fluke of WA0403 has kept its distinct centre marking, which has grown slightly darker in 30 years, and the slight scarring on the tips and edges are still there.

This is the second time we have had a match with a humpback whale sighted off Western Australia, as most resightings are linked with records off the east coast of Australia.

How old is this whale now? Why did it move from its western migration to the eastern migration? What percentage of whales move popluations, are they males or females? The team at Wildlife Coast Cruises continue working to understand more about the whale migration and keep coming up with more questions!

Thanks to the Centre of Whale Research Western Australia for permitting us to use their image (Black & White image below), and thanks to our Citizen Scientists for keeping up their great work of capturing the flukes.

(2024 image by Barbara Wallace, and 2023 image by Paul Beraldo, submitted by Two Bays Whale Project)