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We currently have our net in the water conducting our fourth trawl of the day. The weather has been phenomenal – absolutely no wind so the sea turned oily, flattened by the slightest layer of ice.
Despite these amazing conditions whale, bird and seal sightings have been few, just the odd group of Antarctic minke whales, Adelie penguins, Wilson’s storm-petrels, Antarctic petrels, light-mantled sooty albatross and southern giant-petrels.
But... earlier this evening, just as the observers were about to break for dinner, a group of tall dark fins were spotted ahead. All thoughts of finding the next trawl mark were set aside while we slowed and confirmed the identity of this pod of 10 to 12 ‘type A’ killer whales. Type As are thought to specialise in hunting other whales, mostly Antarctic minkes. Happily the pod approached the ship so everyone got great views of all the individuals in the pod including the very tall but ragged fin of an adult male.
Our acoustics team continue to monitor for blue whale calls. The large group we left a few days ago can still be heard in more or less the same location. The only other sporadically calling blue whales are off to the south east. In another few days we will decide whether to revisit our large group or try to find a new group of blue whales.
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.