in the day to hunt and capture the humpback
whales and it would help herd them back
into the bay so the whalers could actually
get them. So I thought well, there’s nothing
more appropriate than to call the drone Tom,
because he is supposed to capture whales just the whale snot luckily, not bringing them
back to the boat for us to hunt them.”
We’re now sandwiched between two separate
pods of whales, and the whales are not hanging
around. Being later in the season and later in
the day, I am told the whales aren’t keen to
sit still, and whilst being incredibly intelligent,
they don’t have the flamboyance or curiosity
of their distant cousins the dolphins, and are
often a little more serious in their migration
and movement. It makes perfect sense once
you consider that the clock is ticking, and the
plankton-rich Antarctic waters are calling.
We opt for the more boisterous of the two
groups and head towards them. Your pulse
never slows down doing this - it’s random, it’s
potentially risky and it’s a little bit pervasive
WfV