WATCH THE VIDEO: Tourism treat as eight whales play together off Douglas coast
Barrier Reef
A video of eight humpback whales taking part in a mating ritual off the coast of Port Douglas has been going viral online, with more than 80,000 views on one platform and many more on several others.
Wavelength dive instructor Tahn Miller, who filmed the scene near Low Isles, said many of the big dive boats were on the way home from the Great Barrier Reef when they spotted some unusual activity.
“In the distance you see all these whale spouts,” Tahn says.
“It was just primo.”
It turned out the whales were taking part in a “heat run”, where all the big males compete with each other for a female mate.
“They’ll track one down and they’ll chase one,” he says.
The biggest, fastest and strongest whale usually ends up winning the race, with some weighing up to 50 tonnes with a length of about 16m.
“The ones at the front were massive,” Tahn says.
“The sound they were making, their lungs are huge.”
Tahn says this season has been one of the best for a long time, with more than 100 whales spotted by Wavelength, including two humpbacks while snorkelling at Opal Reef.
“Every company has been spotting whales daily.
“It’s been a bumper year.”
Tahn says the whale pod seems to be getting bigger, with up to 45,000 now migrating between Antarctica and the northern GBR.
The boats follow strict guidelines about keeping their distance, but in this instance, the whales swam towards them, making the scene even more spectacular.
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