Season’s best snaps by readers of whales in Tasmanian waters captured in gallery

The high number of whale sightings this season has invigorated, delighted and even inspired new passions for locals. SEE THE MAJESTIC WHALE PHOTO GALLERY >>

• ‘Awe inspiring’: Boat passenger captures stunning sight
• Humpback ‘superpod’ surrounds East Coast fishers’ boat

THE dream for many wildlife enthusiasts is to see whales up close and the high number of sightings in Tasmanian waters this season has delighted and inspired.

Digveejay Balasubramaniam had never seen a whale until recently.

The West Hobart local was lucky to not only see four humpbacks, but also seven orcas, known as killer whales, on a recent Wild Ocean Tasmania boat tour near Fortescue Bay.

“When you see the whales you realise how tiny you are compared to them and how majestic they are,” he said.

“I do photography quite a bit and in almost the four-and-a-half years of photography I feel this has been the highlight of my experience. I want to get into underwater diving and photography — that’s my new-found passion after this trip.”

60+ photos: Readers’ best whale snaps

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Helen McClure, who works for UTAS bringing interstate students to Tasmania, saw what was described as a “steam train” in the ocean on her recent Pennicott boat cruise off Tasman Island.

“There were so many whale hole blows it looked like a train, the mutton birds were swooping down,” Ms McClure said.

“The whales were so close to the boat and all breaching.

“I reckon there must have been about 30 out there, all moving through in twos and threes with mums and babies.”

Similar scenes occurred in the state’s North when Latrobe’s Ebony Menai Richards went out on a boat near Ulverstone with her friends and saw about a dozen humpbacks.

“One dived under and popped up right next to us, we felt the spray on our faces,” she said.

Pennicott Wilderness Journeys founder Robert Pennicott said now was the perfect time to capture images of whales in action. And he believes numbers are increasing each year.

“This southern migration by a long way is the best we’ve ever had and I think that’s largely due to enormous amounts of krill in the waters, so they’re staying here and feeding up before their journey south,” he said.

“We’ve never been known as a whale watching destination, but I think it’s about time.

“From October, November to December you’d be very unlucky on a tour not to see one.”

A Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment spokeswoman said migratory southern right and humpback whales were commonly found moving through Tasmanian waters between mid-August and November.

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Whale tragedy inspires high rescue training interest

THE mass stranding of whales on the West Coast in September has prompted Tasmanians to take further interest in what can be done to save the animals, with high demand for places in rescue training courses.

The recent strandings near Strahan involved about 400 pilot whales stuck in and around Macquarie Harbour, with some carcasses still rotting at Ocean Beach weeks later.

The nation watched on as volunteers worked day and night to help the stranded whales.

Since the disaster, the Department for Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment has received high interest from people wishing to learn how to rescue whales.

“DPIPWE deliver cetacean stranding education and training days for staff and volunteers to assist the Tasmanian community gain the basic skills and knowledge to provide emergency assistance during a stranding event,” a spokesperson said.

“The next volunteer training sessions have been fully subscribed.”

The sessions cover the role of the DPIPWE incident management team and volunteers, resources and equipment, critical on-beach tasks, and safety and first aid considerations both for rescuers and animals.

Additional training session information will be available via dpipwe.tas.gov.au