Humpback whales sighted near Sydney Opera House

A pair of humpback whales swam up Sydney Harbour as far as the Opera House on Friday afternoon.

Ferry passengers enjoyed a free whale watching experience as the inquisitive mammals swam near the Harbour Bridge before turning back towards the Heads and the open ocean.

A NSW Maritime vessel shadowed the whales for part of their journey to make sure sightseers didn’t get too close.

“There are two whales in the harbour this afternoon,” a NSW Parks and Wildlife spokesman told the Herald. “They did make their way far up the harbour as far as the bridge and Opera House area.”

Macquarie University wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta said it was uncommon for whales to do more than poke their heads into the entrance of the harbour.

“Humpback whales are inquisitive creatures,” Pirotta said.

“They do enter the harbour sometimes to just check things out, but it is uncommon for them to come this far up – it happens maybe every few years.

“They’ve probably come in and worked out that this is not like the rest of the ocean.

“It might sound different to what they’re generally used to, so they had a bit of a look around and now they seem to be heading back out,” she said.

The whales are travelling on the southern leg of their annual migration, and in a month or so will be back in Antarctica, feeding and fattening to begin their annual northern journeys again.

Pirotta urged anyone who sees whales, fur seals or dolphins in the harbour to report it to Wild Sydney Harbour, a citizen science project that collects reports and photos of marine life.

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