The Whales of Western Australia.

Australia has often been called 'the lucky country'. This is perhaps due to the generally fantastic climate, the friendly relaxed people or possibly the wonderful scenery and beaches. Maybe its due to the huge array of unique wildlife from the Kangaroo to the mysterious Duck Bill Platypus. Whatever the reason, the countries geographical isolation has certainly allowed a hugely diverse range of animals to develop and spread across the vast continent.

The oceans surrounding Australia are arguably home to the largest and most diverse rage of animals on the planet. Of these, the Cetaceans better known as Dolphins and Whales warrant special attention.

To date, a total of 43 different species of whales and dolphins have been identified in Australian waters. Of these, 35 or 80% are found off the coast of Western Australia the largest State with the longest coastline of over 12,500 kilometres.

Perhaps the most significant specie of Whale found off the WA coast are the Humpback Whale and the Southern Right Whale. Both are now protected by international treaties although this was not always so.

In the early days of European settlement in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the first recognised 'industry' in the 'colonies' as Australia was originally known was Whaling.

The Whaling industry was well established long before the more traditional and familiar industries such as sheep, cattle and mineral exploration. As is sadly often the case, the Whaling industry operated with few controls meaning that both the Humpback and Southern Right Whales were hunted to near extinction.  There are documented records from Tasmania indicating that the early settlers witnessed up to 60 or more Southern Right Whales feeding and resting in the shallows of the Derwent River. As would be expected for the times, these Whales, considered to be a hazard to shipping were hunted mercilessly.

The very earliest reports of Whaling in Australia are dated around 1805 these generally being shore based exploits. However, it is likely that Whaling ships from other countries hunted Whales around the Australian mainland many years before this.

Humpback Whales were not hunted in great numbers during earlier times. However, with the advent of modern Whaling methods including steam and diesel vessels and explosive tipped harpoons, the numbers of Humpbacks taken steadily increased. The new ships, notably around 1904, allowed Whales to be hunted in the Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters this having a significant impact on the decline in Whale numbers.

In 1963, Humpback Whales became a protected species in Australian Waters. However, Sperm Whales were still hunted off the coast of Albany, a fishing Town located in the Southern part of Western Australia. Russian and Japanese Whaling vessels continued to hunt Whales in the Southern Ocean for another 10 years.

Albany has a long tradition of Whaling so much so that an award winning Museum is now operating within the Port City known as Whaleworld www.whaleworld.org.

The museum itself is the original Whaling Station and features much of the original equipment and tools used to hunt Whales.

In particular, Whaleworld has an original Whaling vessel as its major attraction which visitors can explore to gain a feeling of what it was like to venture into the vast and freezing expanse of the Southern Ocean. Interactive video displays are available together with a huge range of original photographs. Of interest are photographs and accounts of massive White Pointer Sharks which feasted on the Whales as the carcus was dragged by steam powered pulley systems onto the steel cutting decks.

Fortunately, Whaling in Albany has now rightly be consigned to the pages of history. However, a thriving Whale Watching Industry now operates in Albany with a number of companies offering charter tours around the coast.

Humpback Whales migrate along the Western Australian coastline having earlier left their feeding grounds in Antarctica. Their journey north takes them to warmer waters to mate and have their young following which they return south to the waters of Antarctica.

This migration is one of the longest in the animal kingdom, some 7000 nautical miles, and occurs year after year; a truly remarkable feat. It was not until the 1970's that fishermen's claims to have seen Humpbacks in the waters of Shark Bay and the Abrolhos Islands off Geraldton were finally verified.

Research has shown that Humpbacks migrating north move in 3 distinct and separate groups. The first and largest group follow the Western Australian coastline, a second moving north along the East coast of the continent and a third along the northern coastline of New Zealand.

From May through to December all 3 groups travel north at the same time their lives being geared to a cycle of migration in Winter (May to December) to warmer in shore seas before returning to the Antarctic in the summer months (December to February). Humpbacks feed  on Krill a Norwegian word meaning 'whale food'.

The 1980's saw the development and expansion of the Whale Watching Industry in Western Australia allowing, for the first time, people the opportunity to see these amazing mammals up close. Western Australia is now recognised as one of the best locations in the world to see the migration of Whales with visitors coming from all over the world to enjoy this unique experience. This flood of environmentally sensitive visitors is likely to ensure the safety of Whales for years to come so that future generations will appreciate and value these magnificent ocean animals.

Tours.

Active Safaris have developed a range of all inclusive Whale Watching Tours and excursions that have proved to be the best way to experience the wonders of Whale watching. Tours are generally of 2 or 3 days duration beginning and ending in Perth although can be modified to suit depending on numbers.

The tours visit the southern most tip of Western Australia at Flinders Bay, Augusta and Geograph Bay near Dunsborough. The tours include a 3 hour boat trip on the 'Whalewatcher'  a safe and purpose built vessel designed to ensure a close up view of the Whales. You can contact us directly for more information or alternatively, check out www.whales-australia.com.

Experience has shown us that between May and December the rare and gigantic Blue Whale is a common sight as are Southern Right Whales, Humpback, Minkie and even Long Finned Pilot Whales.

Active Safaris range of tours are detailed on our website www.activesafaris.com.au. You can also e-mail us at eddie@activesafaris.com.au or telephone. We will be happy to discuss our range of tours and provide any information you may require.

Weird Facts on Humpback Whales.

•           Humpbacks get their name from the way they 'hump' their backs when diving.

•           The Latin name for Humpbacks is 'Megathere Novae Angliae' meaning 'large wing from New England'.

•           Humpbacks are the 5^th largest of the Great Whales.

•           Humpbacks are 'baleen' or 'filter feeders'.

•           Humpbacks are true mammals feeding their calf's on milk.

•           Humpback Whales can travel at speeds up to 15 kilometres per hour.

•           Humpbacks are renowned for their singing.

•           Humpbacks can live for over 50 years.

Humpback Whales can be rather rough when choosing a partner with up to six or seven males chasing one female. The females have been seen waiting to one side while the males bump and crash into each other vying for her attention. Occasionally, the female will talk matters into her own hands and pick a mate herself!

Male Humpback Whales can weigh up to 45 tonnes and be over 15 meters in length. Females even exceed this. Competing for a mate involves head slapping, breaching the water on top of each other and crashing their 5 meter long flippers onto the waters surface. A truly remarkable sight. The strongest and most determined male generally wins the competion for the females. Very rarely if ever do the animals cause injuries to each other.

Once paired, mating takes place with calves arriving around 11 months later. The male Humpback does not seem to have an active role in rearing the calf preferring to leave this to the female. However, females cooperate with other females ensuring a cooperative approach to rearing young.

Once a calf is born weighing some 1.5 tonnes and up to 5 meters in length, the mother must produce around 250 litres of milk a day. They are weaned over a period of 11 months during which time the calf has doubled in length to around 10 meters.

Southern Right Whales.

Today, the Southern Right Whale continous to be an endangered species despite receiving international protection from commercial whalers since 1935.

From a peak population of 100,000 in the early 1800's, numbers have slowly stabilised and may be marginally increasing from an earlier low base of 4,000. Between 1820 and 1850 some 26,000 Southern Right Whales were mercilessly slaughtered in Australian and New Zealand waters. All this destructive mayhem was in order to satisfy the demands of the Industrial Revolution which to a large part, relied on the oils and blubber for fuel. The 'fuels' from Whales were used for the illumination of street lamps in the large cities of the world, lubrication for machinery, brushes, candles and perhaps most insidiously of all, to satisfy the demands of fashion for women's corsets.

Southern Right Whales are considered 'Skim Feeders' a term which refers to the Whales habit of feeding by swimming through vast clouds of Plankton located at or very near to the ocean surface. When feeding, Southern Right Whales swim with the huge mouths open thereby allowing water to circulate through the Baleen trapping the plankton varieties including Copepods, Phytoplankton and Zooplankton.

With its muscular tongue, the Southern Right Whale swishes through the baleen clouds and flicks plankton to the back of its mouth where it is immediately swallowed-usually 1 kilogram at a time. Over the course of a single day, an adult Southern Right Whale can consume over a tonne or more of protein rich plankton.

Scientists classify Southern Right Whales as belonging to the Baleen Family of Whales otherwise known as the Mysticete sub order of Cetacea. Members of the Baleen family possess no teeth but rather, nature has endowed them with structures known as Baleen Plates. These plates are found in the mouth and are used as a means to filter food sources such as Copepods from sea water. The Southern Right Whales Baleen consists of a series of over 250 pairs of elongated triangular plates suspended from each side of the Whales upper jaw. These triangular plates have been measured at over 2.5 meters long and are composed of a material called Chitin which is similar to the material which makes up human fingernails. Within the Southern Right Whales mouth the internal surfaces of the Baleen plates form a frayed and dense 'sieve' like matting through which the Whale filters its food.

Like other mammal species, the female Southern Right Whale is also endowed with milk glands for suckling their young Whale calves. At birth, Whale calves are delivered tail first, weigh about 1 tonne and are some 5.5 meters in length.

During the 3 to 4 months after birth, young Whale calves grow to 7 or 8 meters in length and gain on average 50 to 60 kilograms in weight every day. By the time the young whale calves depart via the Western Australian coastline to their summer feeding grounds they typically weigh between 6 and 8 tonnes.

Southern Right Whales milk contains up to 40% fat and this no doubt contributes to their growth rates. Rapid growth rates of 50 to 60 kilograms per day are all the more remarkable however, when you consider that the Right Whale mothers fast for the first 4 to 6 months they are resident in their feeding and breeding grounds during the Southern Hemispheres winter and early spring. This extended period without access to its usual food sources of Copepods and Plankton is no doubt assisted by the fact that the layer of blubber can be 40 centimetres in depth.

Clearly, nursing and raising Southern Right Whales calves involves a very high expenditure of energy. It therefore seems a likely evolutionary imperative for female Southern Right Whales to possess a much greater body mass than their male counterparts. Not surprisingly, female Southern Right Whales tend to breed only every 3 years or so generally wintering in their feeding grounds during the off-breeding cycle.

The Southern Right Whale is truly an immense creature of the seas. Frequently, females weigh in at 85 tonnes when mature. Adult males are relative light weights at 55 tonnes or so. Typically, females grow to 17.5 meters in length with males growing perhaps 2 meters less than females. In common with other mammals, including land based ones such as humans, Southern Right Whales possess lungs, breather air, are warm blooded and even possess remnants of body hair!

The Southern Right Whale is blue/black in colour with white markings although some albinos and near albinos have been recorded. The Right Whales most noticeable feature is the hoorny growth of 'callosities' on and around the head (primarily near to the blow hole, around the rostrum and above the eyes and jaw). It is this feature which scientists use to identify Southern Right Whales from one and other.

Weird Facts on Southern Right Whales.

•           Southern Right Whales can weigh up to 80 tonnes and reach 18 meters in length.

•           The male Southern Right Whale possess the largest pair of testes in the animal kingdom. A pair of Right Whale testes can weight up to a tonne.

•           Unlike fish, sharks and many other Whales, the Southern Right Whale possesses no dorsal fin whatsoever. The Southern Right Whale is a smooth backed Whale.

•           The Male Southern Right Whale has a penis 2.5 meters long.

•           Southern Right Whales have a 'vee shaped' blowhole with spray exiting the vent in 2 streams at an angle of 45% from the perpendicular.

•           Female Right Whales are sexually promiscuous. This is probably related to the fact that females are only able to breed once every 3 years whereas males are able to breed every year. From the perspective of the male, there is always a shortage of breeding females.

•           When migrating between their feeding grounds the normal cruising speed of a Right Whale is about 4 kilometres per hour.

•           The Southern Right Whales nearest relative is the Northern Right Whale. As the name suggests, the Northern Right Whale lives in the northern hemisphere. The Northern Right Whale is extremely endangered with only a few hundred remaining alive. During the last Ice Age, ancestral populations of Right Whales moved between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

•           Today, Northern and Southern Right Whales are separated by an 8,500 kilometre band of warm tropical water. Scientists now classify these 2 populations as being separate species.

Check out some of the best Whale and Dolphin sites on the web.

An excellent write up on Blue Whales;

www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/bluewhale.shtml

Whales of Australia and places to see them;

www.upstarts.net.au/sites/non_commercial/whales

Website about the Hong Kong Dolphins;

www.hkdolphinwatch.com

Swim with the Whales;

www.whaleswim.com

Whale and Dolphin site;

www.cetacea.org

The Whale Foundation of the UK;

www.whalefoundation.org.uk