‘It’s hump day!’ Whale at Circular Quay stops ferries

A whale frolicking in Circular Quay on Wednesday thrilled commuters and forced ferries to stop and watch the show as the migratory giant surfaced from the glittering waters on a sightseeing trip that ticked off Luna Park, the Opera House and Fort Denison.

“It’s hump day and a whale has rocked up in the middle of Circular Quay – it doesn’t get any better than this!” said whale scientist Dr Vanessa Pirotta, on board a NSW Maritime boat tracking the whale through one of Australia’s busiest harbours.

The whale was probably a sub-adult and seemed on the thinner side, Pirotta said, which means it might be making its way south to feast in rich Antarctic waters after visiting tropical breeding grounds over winter.

Pirotta saw the whale “logging” or lying on the water’s surface with a backdrop of yachts and waterfront mansions.

“Think of a school bus just hanging at the surface, flat. And then it breathes, and it does these beautiful ‘tail-ups’, which is so good for photo identification.”

The whale seemed relaxed and inquisitive while swimming past wharves, a cruise ship, across a seaplane runway and within spitting distance of winter paddleboarders at Balmoral, she said.

Three vessels run by NSW Maritime and the National Parks and Wildlife Service escorted the whale to reduce the risk of boat strikes in a harbour busy with speedboats and ferries.

The whale was last seen in Rose Bay just before light fall.

“When a whale is in the harbour, they become not only a beautiful thing to see, but a navigational nightmare,” Pirotta, who runs the citizen science project Wild Sydney Harbour, said.

A famous humpback that bears the scars of a vessel strike known as “Blade Runner” migrates past Sydney each year, serving as a reminder that boats can wound and sometime kill whales.

Commuter Sylvia Lawrence was on a ferry travelling from Neutral Bay on Wednesday morning when the vessel suddenly slowed.

“We were on the ferry approaching Circular Quay and all the ferries in that area stopped moving, and we saw some police boats. It was unclear what was going on,” she said.

Then the whale surfaced and released a jet of spray.

“There was a lot of excitement on the ferry,” she said. “A good excuse to be late for work and one of my more special commutes!”

Pirotta said it was not clear why the whales swam into Sydney Harbour during their annual migrations, when at least 40,000 whales travel along Australia’s east coast. This year’s migration seemed to begin early, possibly due to climate change.

“This whale travels from some of the most affected areas from climate change, like Antarctica and the tropics, and yet, just casually, on their way to work, commuters this morning have seen an animal that’s taken a detour from one of the greatest migrations on Earth,” she said.

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