Rugby Union | Muswellbrook Chronicle

When Tathra local Terry Dixon flew his drone across his coastal neighbourhood on Monday morning he was delighted to capture rare footage of a Southern Right Whale's curious cruise around the town's iconic wharf. "It arrived in the northern end of the bay around nine o'clock Sunday and stayed overnight, in the morning at around the same time I looked out of my window and I saw it swimming in front of the skate-park and past the Surf Club," Mr Dixon said. Mr Dixon said while operating the drone he saw the whale "cruising" around the wharf as it rubbed its belly against the ocean floor, before making its way around the headland and heading south. Mr Dixon said this had been the first time he'd seen one this season. "You do see them travelling up and down the coast this time of year but because of their small numbers, only a handful are sighted in NSW during the winter," he said. The whale's curious exploration around the wharf meant Mr Dixon could take footage for a research project, called Right Whale ID. READ ALSO: Orcas photographed enjoying NSW Far South Coast The project uses the drone footage to identify and track Southern Right Whales to try and better understand their movements and improve protections for the endangered mammal. Project officer in the National Parks Marine Wildlife team, Andrew Marshall, said Mr Dixon's footage of the whale had helped them greatly. "In the last few years we've had somewhere between 5 to 10 adults turning up in NSW every season, which may sound like nothing but it's pretty exciting when you think of how small their population is," he said. Mr Marshall said the whale's close visit to the shoreline exhibited normal behaviour as it was quite common for these large whales to swim in shallow waters. "There's a few theories behind it, but we think they mostly do it to avoid detection by predators." Based on the footage supplied by Mr Dixon, Mr Marshall said the whale appeared to be in good health. "This animal has got all the signs of being well stocked up from a big summer's worth of feeding in the Southern Ocean, he or she, appears to be in really good condition that's for sure," he said. Mr Marshall said no evidence of scars or injuries showed the whale hadn't incurred any problems with vessels at sea or encounters with predators either. "Seeing its recent behaviour of hanging around Tathra, indicates it demonstrated very stock standard behaviour for these types of whales," he said. Southern Right whales are known for their 'site fidelity', meaning when an expecting mother has found a bay or section of the coast that she feels is safe to raise her calf, she will remain there to raise it and is capable of coming back next time. "There's a couple of individuals that are known to come back to the same place each time they're ready to have a calf," Mr Marshall said. Mr Marshall said due to the size and healthy appearance of the whale there was a small chance it could be pregnant, however it was hard to tell, while the age and gender hadn't been confirmed. "If Tathra was lucky enough to have a calf born there and the mum's stayed for a couple of weeks undisturbed, then in three to five years time you can expect to see her come back." Southern right whales are medium to large baleen whales, distinguished by the white and grey growths on their head, known as callosities. A fully grown whale of this species can measure up to 18 metres in length, weighs 80 tonnes and can be easily identified by their bulky build which measures up to be twice the body mass of a Humpback Whale. "If people do spot a Southern Right whale, we'd be really stoked to have a report of that coming through so that we can get a qualified and registered drone pilot like Terry out there, taking some photos to identify the individual," Mr Marshall said. Mr Marshall added that every Southern Right Whale has it's own unique callosities markings on their heads, which helps in identifying the whales individually and monitor their movements. To report a sighting you can either contact the Marine Wildlife team via phone on 1300 072 757 or the ORRCA rescue helpline (02) 9415 3333. Contacting either of these will lead to the dispatch of the nearest availble professionals to the location of the sighting. READ ALSO:

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