The great success story of the humpback whale

IT was on the verge of extinction, but now we’re poised to uncover this majestic creature’s fascinating secrets as we start swimming with whales.

HUMPBACK whales were recently on the verge of extinction, but now you can get breathtakingly close to the majestic creatures.

Their fightback from dwindling numbers to a healthy population is one of the great environmental success stories of our time. There were as few as 500 humpback whales left in Australia after hunting in the 1970s, but that’s now back up to 100,000 on the East Coast alone. Tonga is one of the only places in the world that allows tourists to swim with the imposing mammals, so 60 Minutes reporter Ally Langdon dived in to find out more for a fascinating episode, which airs tonight at 8.30pm. “I wasn’t sure what we’d be seeing, if the tourism operation was causing them distress,” she told news.com.au. “We took an Australian marine biologist with us and he didn’t have any concerns, it’s not doing the whales any harm. They’re not perturbed by us at all. “They travel from the Antarctic and battle sharks, [so humans] mean nothing to them. They’re extraordinary creatures, huge but so gentle. You get the sense they’re intelligent, their eyes are set so far back, you feel like they’re checking you out.” The Tongan boat tours drop tourists in the water and allow the gigantic whales to swim past, then pick the swimmers back up and drop them off beside the animals again. Adults can be as long as 12-16 metres and weigh around 36,000 kilograms, so this is a truly impressive sight. “We saw a heat run, with about eight males chasing a mother and calf,” said Langdon. “It can be really violent between the males, they’re trying to push each other down, but they were so gentle with us, even when they were trying to kill each other. “We were in and out of the water, and they would charge past. We got in about 20 times, we were exhausted and sunburnt, but it was amazing to watch.” What makes this an especially exciting time in the humpbacks’ revival is the chance we may finally see them mating or giving birth — natural wonders no one has witnessed, since they usually take place in deep water. “Marine biologists all over the world have been trying to capture it,” said Langdon. “It’s probably going to be a tourist with a Go Pro.” Tongan tour operators manage numbers so there are never too many swimmers in the water with the whales at one time. The past year has had the most sightings yet. The Pacific island has a history of whale hunting, and the captain of Langdon’s boat told 60 Minutes his great-grandfather had been a whaler, showing the region’s big industry has gone from harming whales to protecting them. Whale hotspot Hervey Bay is watching closely, according to Langdon, although it’s not clear if swimming with whales will ever be allowed in Australia’s thriving “humpback highways”. For now, this is a rare and special experience reserved for travellers to this remote Pacific island, on just a few months of each year. Watch the full story tonight on Channel 9 at 60 Minutes at 8.30pm.