Astonishing Bird's-Eye View Of Whales And Their Calves In Western Australia

Majestic drone footage captures exciting images of Southern Right Whales and their calves at the Fitzgerald National Park, near Bremer Bay in Western Australia. Between the months of January and March, this spot off the coast of West Australia starts sizzling with life. This drone footage is one of just a few filmed in Augusta where a Southern Right Whale calf can be seen.

These footages are being gathered by researchers at Murdoch University’s Cetacean Research Unit, in order to measure the body size and health and these extraordinary creatures. So far, little was known about their movements and habitat use of breeding and calving grounds in Australia.

The entire world population of the Southern Right Whales is estimated at several thousand, compared to the original population, which numbered at around 100,000 before whaling. Recent estimates of the population around the southern coast of the continent put them at only 1500 individuals. They are thought to be recovering at a rate of about seven per cent each year, and are once again becoming a spectacle along the coastline.

The southern right whale spends summer in the far Southern Ocean feeding, probably close to Antarctica. If the opportunity arises, feeding can occur even in temperate waters such as along Buenos Aires. It migrates north in winter for breeding and can be seen by the coasts of South America, Madagascar, New Zealand and South Africa, however, whales have been known to winter on sub-Antarctic regions.