My days and nights have been jam-packed for the past week+, so I haven't had an opportunity to write a long-form post for a while.
The action has been great though, and I wanted to share a couple of quick snapshots from a heat run yesterday, the first I've had this season.
Humpback whales engaged in a high-energy heat run, Tonga
This particular heat run centred upon a female with a calf, which I ended up designating as calf #30 of the 2012 season.
Accompanying the mother/ calf pair was the lead escort, a male humpback that was busying blowing bubbles, charging and fending off challenger males.
At the peak, we saw five males (besides the escort) jockeying for position...presumably trying to displace the lead escort and currying the favour of the female humpback.
Mommy and baby were chilled out for the most part, though one can't help but think that the female was probably tired of all the fuss, and was perhaps even wishing that the boys would just finish all the chest-thumping nonsense and shut up already.
Anyway, high-energy heat runs are my favourite(!), so I hope to see some more before my season winds up in a few weeks.
Humpback whale swishing its fluke during a heat run