The mysteries of the introverted whale

Most kids want to grow up to be a marine biologist. Dr Capri Jolliffe actually did. A PhD in applied physics and a hook up with a Curtin University research program later, and Dr Jolliffe made her childhood dream come true. These days, she works as a bio-acoustician, specialising in the East Indian Ocean blue whale population. In non-science speak, she puts fancy microphones on the ocean floor and records blue whale’s singing. 

“Blue whales are very low frequency singers, some elements of their song you can hear, but most of the energy in their vocalisations is below the human hearing range. You probably feel it more than anything.”

Part of Dr Jolliffe’s work is about understanding why they come so close to shore, especially around Geographe Bay. “They sort of hug the coastline and really cut that corner,” she says. “They do it to try and stay out of the currents so it’s easier for them to swim, or to avoid killer whales, which are pretty much their only natural predator, aside from humans.” 

The South West coastline is a particularly special spot for whale watching, because it’s one of the rare places you can regularly see them from land. The Southwest Whale Ecology Study (SouWEST) has been monitoring humpbacks, blues and other whales in Geographe Bay since 2003. 

Their research is unique, because it’s conducted from land, with support from volunteers in the community and visitors to the region. If you’re down for a week, you can spend a couple of hours documenting whales in the bay for them (head to souwest.org to learn more).

The group’s data even convinced the BBC to film a documentary released in 2025 called ‘Ocean’ that features whales in the South West, which is narrated by Sir David Attenborough. SouWEST helped the BBC crew find blue whales, so they could film them under water. 

But despite all the data, exact numbers on blue whale populations are hard to estimate. “We didn’t really know much about blue whales or their vocal behaviour, because they are elusive and difficult to study. It was always assumed they were quite simple in their vocal behaviour compared to other whales, because they’ve always been considered largely solitary animals,” Dr Jolliffe says. “We thought they only sung one song, and that it never really changed, then we discovered they were starting to change their songs.”

Dr Jolliffe says that unlike humpback whales, who sing a hit song for the season then move onto the next one, blue whales diversify their song patterns over time. These variations then become a permanent part of their repertoire, which makes it difficult to calculate populations from acoustics alone. 

“We realised that blue whales aren’t as simple, or as solitary, as we thought they were,” she says. “In Geographe Bay we’ve seen groups of ten-plus animals that are quite close together and quite clearly traveling together, sort of separate out and then come back together – even swimming over the top of each other, which is quite amazing to see.” 

These introverts of the ocean hang out when they want to, then make space, communicating across further distances than anyone realised. But what exactly are they saying? 

 “What we know from animal singing behaviour, particularly baleen whales, is that they sing as a reproductive display, similar to birds,” Dr Jolliffe says. “It’s assumed that it’s largely the males singing to attract a female, and the more complex your song, the cleverer you are perceived to be.” 

Dr Jolliffe says blue whales can find it hard to sing intricate songs when there’s a whole lot of noise to compete with – like low-flying drones and jet skis. 

“We think there’s a bit of a trade-off,” she says. “Do I sing a song that can be heard, even when it’s noisy? Or do I sing a song that’s the sexiest, which is going to attract the most females?” 

And there’s another trade off. Unlike southern rights and humpbacks, who feed in the summer then migrate to warmer waters, blue whales need to eat all the time. So, if they’re singing, they’re missing out on important sustenance. 

While eating, blue whales often consume a lot of plastic, because they can’t discriminate between rubbish and krill when taking big gulps of water. 

And there are other things you can do to help the whales too. “The more we’re learning about blue whales, the more we’re realising we don’t know as much as what we thought we did,” Dr Jolliffe says. “So, if you see a big baleen whale, even if you don’t know what it is, please take a photo and send it into the local research group or even post on one of the Facebook whale watching groups – it’s really, really helpful to us.” 

The best way to see these amazing creatures, as well as Humpback Whales and Southern Right Whales, is onboard with one of the four whale-watching tour operators: Whale Watch Western Australia, Naturaliste Charters and All Sea Charters. 

You can still be part of the action from land by finding the perfect vantage point and keeping your eyes peeled. Some great spots are  Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse, Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse, Geographe Bay, or anywhere along the Cape to Cape Track.