What you can Learn from a Whale Watching Cruise in Sydney
As they say, the best way to learn is through experience. Whale watching provides this in spades as you get up and personal with these huge and majestic creatures as they breach and frolic in the scenic coastal waters of Sydney. This is the essence of whale watching, observing and learning from these beautiful creatures in their natural environment. You will walk away with an active learning experience as you witness the amazing behaviours of these huge and gentle sea creatures with insights from experienced guides.
Here’s what you can learn about a Humpback Whale after a whale watching cruise in Sydney.
The Humpback Whale Can Sing
The song of the Humpback whale can be heard over large distances in the ocean due to the higher speed of sound through water. These sounds can be categorised as moans, cries and howls to communicate with other humpback whales. What the song is used for, however, is a completely different story.
Males will sing to attract females in order for the humpback whale to mate and keep the numbers alive. The songs are also used to establish and maintain social structures in the pod of humpback whales. These songs can be heard over very large distances as mentioned earlier, thanks to the size of these majestic creatures.
They may even change their songs in order to harmonise with other whales, much like chord changes in songs played by different instruments and musicians as part of an orchestra.
Humpbacks Live and in Action
Another thing that you can learn from a whale watching cruise in Sydney is that these are some very large marine animals, the adults of which can grow to a whopping 12-16 metres in length. Just seeing them breach the surface of the water can show how massive this size actually is.
As for the weight, these humpbacks can weigh up to 36,000 kilograms.
That’s nearly as much as 40 classic model Holden Toranas!
For the record, one of the largest ever recorded humpback whales measured at an incredible 27.1 meters.
Whilst you are up close and personal with these amazing mammals, you will observe their distinct coloration on the backs as well as their underside of their bellies. You will note that these creatures are dark grey or black in colour with white patches on their stomach and on the bumpy knobs on their heads.
You’ll also learn that the body of the humpback whale is widest at the stomach and narrows down towards its fluke and its head. You’ll be able to see how they use their flukes, which are the wings of their tail, in order to navigate through the ocean and use their large fins to help out as well.
In a whale watching cruise, you’ll be able to see just how big those pectoral fins are as compared to the rest of their body as they breach the water surface in the coastal waters of Sydney.
You’ll Probably Not be able to See the Baleens but They’re There
You’ve probably heard that a humpback whale is a baleen whale. That’s owing to the fact that the whales have bristles called baleens that it uses to filter out krill, fish, kelp and other small prey in its mouth like a drift net. The key to the success of these baleen bristles is that they are spaced far apart enough in order to let the water go through but catch their food in their mouth for digestion.
Our Whale Watching Tours provide for an amazing opportunity to continue this relationship with these giants of the sea. Our tours are suited to all ages and is ideal for a family day out with a hot breakfast of BBQ buffet lunch included. We have experienced guides providing live commentary and interesting facts about the whales in general and those that we recognise and see every year.