Whales’ social life

We are approaching the final weeks of the Humpback Whale migration, but we are still seeing large pods of whales off Wilsons Prom. Pods of up to 8-10 whales are cruising along the east coast of Wilsons Promontory, traveling slowly and displaying fascinating interactions.

Apart from witnessing these gentle giants breach out of the water, tail -and pec-slapping on the surface, you can also hear the whales at times, as they use sound to communicate with each other.

While humpback whales are known for their elaborate songs, which only the males do, they also make various sounds like grunts, clicks, trumpeting and squeals. By using a hydrophone in the water (when we can stop the boat engines), we can often hear the whales produce these intricate sounds. These vocals are believed to play a vital role in the whales’ social networking.

Being highly social creatures, they continually form bonds on their migration, and sounds can help the whales identify individuals and strengthen these connections. During mating season, males will also vocalise to get the female’s attention as well as intimidate other males during the heat runs.

But there is a downside to using sound, it travels far underwater and can be heard by potential predators too… Mums and calves have been recorded to ‘whisper’ to each other in order not to be detected by predators.

Come join us and experience these amazing whales on our last cruises of the season!

Photos by Barbara Wallace.