Ultimate baby snap
Quest to gain footage of humpbacks calving
A WHALE watching operator is hoping to capture never-before-seen footage of humpback whales calving off the Gold Coast this year.
Whales in Paradise owner Anthony Ardern said his crew were poised with underwater Go Pro cameras as whale numbers boomed.
“(Whale numbers) are increasing by 10 per cent each year,” Mr Ardern said.
“Every seven years the population basically doubles in size.
“We’re expecting an explosion in calf numbers. As the whales (from the last boom) become sexually mature, they begin to breed.”
The extra numbers mean there is ample opportunity to capture footage of humpback whales giving birth – which had never been captured on film before, Mr Ardern said.
But to capture the film, there needed to a number of conditions.
Mr Ardern said boats were not allowed to get any closer than 100m and he wanted to be respectful to the mother whale calving.
“I think I’d have more luck winning the lottery,” he said.
“But you never know. It would be amazing, mind blowing to have it in 4K and high definition.”
Up to 33,000 whales are expected to swim past the Gold Coast this year and sightings have been good since the official whale watching season began late last month.
Mr Ardern said as whale numbers began to hit perceived pre-whaling numbers – thought to between 30,000 to 60,000 – whales could also be seen feeding opportunistically as they migrated.
Humpback whales tend to live off their blubber reserves during the migration, he said, but with more whales down closer to Antarctica, there was increased competition for food.
He said the whales were snacking on shoals of fish on their journey.
Mr Ardern encouraged locals to get out and see the humpback whales.