{"id":347480,"date":"2026-01-02T03:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T03:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/347480\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T03:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T03:43:10","slug":"unique-mugging-behaviour-attracts-intrigued-whale-watchers-to-queensland-hotspot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/347480\/","title":{"rendered":"Unique ‘mugging’ behaviour attracts intrigued whale watchers to Queensland hotspot"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is the type of “mugging” whale watchers hope for on a sightseeing holiday.<\/p>\n

But it turns out a pod of humpback whales that occasionally surround tourist boats could be just as interested in people watching.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Wally Franklin has been studying the behaviour of humpback whales in Hervey Bay since the 1980s. (ABC Wide Bay: Olivia Nunes-Malek)<\/p>\n

“They’ve come to understand these boats are not a threat,” said marine scientist Wally Franklin of the mugging interactions.<\/p>\n

“They’re quite intrigued with the stick-like creatures aboard that wave and shout at them.”<\/p>\n

Tourism operators on Queensland’s Fraser Coast have just farewelled a bumper whale watching season with the east coast’s humpback population now estimated to be as high as 50,000.<\/p>\n

Early muggings<\/p>\n

A mugging is a unique behaviour where humpback whales encircle and interact with people aboard a vessel.<\/p>\n

Dr Franklin, the managing director of research organisation The Oceania Project, said in the 1970s he noticed that whales did not normally engage with boats like they did in Hervey Bay.<\/p>\n

When comparing the experiences across locations, roughly a decade after the species was almost hunted to extinction, he made a surprising discovery.<\/p>\n

“Fourteen per cent of pods in Hervey Bay would come towards the vessels and engage in these muggings,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Whales<\/p>\n

Whale muggings are most likely to occur between July and October during their annual migration to Antarctica. (ABC Wide Bay: Ross Kay)<\/p>\n

The humpback whale migration along Australia’s east coast from Antarctica to warmer northern waters usually runs between May and November.<\/p>\n

Dr Franklin said muggings are most common between July and October.<\/p>\n

He said juvenile whales, aged between one and six, had a higher chance of engaging in muggings during the earlier half of the season.<\/p>\n

During the latter half of the season, mature females and their new calves are more likely to be seen mugging.<\/p>\n

Dr Franklin said interactions with boats as a young calf could make whales feel more comfortable once they reached maturity.<\/p>\n

“[The interactions are] important for both the physical and social development of the individual whales,” he said.<\/p>\n

Learned behaviour<\/p>\n

Griffith University whale researcher Olaf Meynecke said he was not sure who first called the behaviour “mugging”, but the phrase has grown in popularity.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s still relatively new compared to other behaviour,” Dr Meynecke said.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Dr Olaf Meynecke said humpback whales have learned new behaviours in response to an increase in boats. (Supplied: Olaf Meynecke)<\/p>\n

During his research, Dr Meynecke observed humpback whales would often approach a boat from its rear.<\/p>\n

He believes the marine species had learnt to do this to avoid being run over.<\/p>\n

“They never approach the front, and they must have learnt this,” he said.Safety concerns<\/p>\n

Some have raised concerns about humpback whales losing their natural instincts with so much human interaction.<\/p>\n

Dr Meynecke said whales had adapted to the growing number of boats they encounter, but people should be wary of when a whale is at rest or wants to interact.<\/p>\n

“I think it’s really important to learn more about the difference,” he said.<\/p>\n

Australian boat operators are required to follow a strict list of regulations to protect humpback whales from potential harm.<\/p>\n

Under Queensland laws, commercial boats are required to provide a safe distance of at least 100 metres away from humpback whales.<\/p>\n

\"Whales<\/p>\n

Recreational boat users are urged to learn the difference between an interactive whale and a resting whale. (ABC Wide Bay: Ross Kay)<\/p>\n

They must also operate at speeds less than six knots to avoid disturbing whales nearby.<\/p>\n

They are rules Tasman Ventures whale watching guide Vicki Neville said the tour company follows closely.<\/p>\n

She said their boats come to a stop, so the marine mammals make their own decisions.<\/p>\n

“They choose to come in, and we let them do their thing. We typically shut down, so you definitely don’t move,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"Profile<\/p>\n

Vicki Neville said the best part of her job is watching people’s reactions when a whale mugging happens. (ABC Wide Bay: Olivia Nunes-Malek)<\/p>\n

She said when the whales decide to “mug” a boat, it was one of the favourite parts of the job.<\/p>\n

“[There’s] so many emotions around the boat and to see people blown away with the close encounters, it keeps me going,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We’re not feeding them, we’re not coaxing them, we’re not bringing them over ourselves.<\/p>\n

“They choose to come over because it’s inquisitive behaviour.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is the type of “mugging” whale watchers hope for on a sightseeing holiday. But it turns out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[134376,90,56,54,55,50095,13285,11299,60080,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-347480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-mugging","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom","13":"tag-whale-behaviour","14":"tag-whale-watching","15":"tag-whales","16":"tag-wide-bay","17":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}