26.03.2021
Well.
It happened again…
The orcas, our beloved but unpredictable friends. They were no where to be seen. They’ve evacuated the hotspot and after many many hours of searching not a single Killer Whale dorsal could be seen.
I spy with my little eye, A SEAL! YAY! Woohoo, a New Zealand fur seal enjoying the creamy calm surface. “BUT WAIT” and before we could even take a second look at this furry guy we were on our way to a breaching spermie. Just like that our luck had changed and we were steaming over to a big commotion on the horizon!
We genuinely couldn’t believe our eyes – out of the silk was a sky-ward rectangle! Sperm whales are known for their blunt rostrum – the square headed beast was making a ruckus, probably trying to attract the attention of other giants out in the southern ocean, instead he just got ours.
We now spied with our little eyes, a spermie in the sky. On approach he relaxed, showing off the wrinkley dimpley skin. Tail lobs ensued and we were able to capture some nice tail identification photos. No matches between individuals as yet this season, which means we’ve had a fair few different whales! Population estimates for Sperm Whales are still data deficient which means scientists still have a lot to learn.
An extremely pleasant day out on the water not observing orcas…. tomorrow is a new day and our experienced crew will be making sure they are searching the entire canyon system high and low!!
