Blue Whales are biggest animal on earth (ever!)
The blue whales we see in Geographe Bay appear to be mostly pygmy blue whales. They are shorter than the Antarctic blues seen elsewhere.
Blue whales do not have the level of reserves of fat that some other species do and certain locations are known as feeding grounds during their annual migration on route to breeding grounds. Satellite tracking of these blue whales has shown that they winter in Indonesian waters, and calve there. They travel down the West Australian coast and pass through Geographe Bay from early September to December. We know some have been feeding north of Geographe Bay as we have filmed multiple instances of them defecating in Geographe Bay.
[CSK1]A link to the work would be good.
[CSK1]A link to the work would be good.
They continue southbound towards what are thought to be sub-Antarctic and Antarctic feeding grounds.
Later in summer they start their northward migration again, travelling up to locations off Australia, including the Bonney upwelling, and off the south coast, and up to the Perth Canyon where they feed on krill, on their way to breeding grounds thought to be off Indonesia, to repeat the cycle. The tour boats operating out of Bremer Bay have seen several instances of Orcas killing blue whales at this time.
