Whale sightings every day as mums and calves head south

WHALES are continuing to put on spectacular displays in Tasmanian waters.

Humpback whale calf breaching at O'Hara Bluff. Photograph: ANGE ANDERSON

WHALES are continuing to put on spectacular displays in Tasmanian waters.

Zoologist Ange Anderson, who works as a deckhand for Pennicott Wilderness Journeys, said tour groups had been treated to whale sightings every day for the past month on the Tasman Island cruise, on the south-east coast.

“We started the season with a lot of feeding in the area,” she said.

“Over the last 10 days we’ve started to see a lot of mums and calves come through. Sometimes they put on a bit of a display.”

Mrs Anderson yesterday photographed a mother humpback whale which was at Munro Bight, off the Tasman Peninsula, with its calf.

“It was almost as if the mum was showing the calf how to breach,” she said.

Mrs Anderson, who has been a deckhand for nine years, also snapped a calf breaching near O’Hara bluff last week.

“I’ve seen a lot [of whales] but it’s special every time,” she said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of people.

“It’s always exciting and it’s really nice to share them with people.”

Mrs Anderson said the season started with an abundance of krill.

“There was a lot of krill in the water again [this weekend] after the rough conditions we’ve had,” she said.

Originally published as Whale sightings every day as mums and calves head south