Fyshwick may want to order some video copies of the intimate private lives of blue whales, which have been revealed for the first time by the Australian National University. 

This footage isn’t X-rated but it’s extremely rare, capturing amorous adults in courtship and nursing mothers that has remained largely unknown to the scientific community – until now.

Program leader and marine ecologist, ANU Associate Professor Karen Edyvan, said the rare footage (as yet untitled but may I suggest a working title of Nemo: unedited), “was very exciting”.

“From newborn calves and nursing mothers to amorous adults in courtship, the waters of Timor-Leste really are providing blue whale scientists with some of our first glimpses into the private lives of one of the world’s largest but most elusive animals,” she said. 

The film stars/whales were spotted having a whale of a time, off the coast of Timor-Leste as part of the annual monitoring of the Austral-Indonesian population of pygmy blue whales.

The waters around Timor-Leste are a global cetacean hotspot and a potential major migration corridor for whales and dolphins. Must be something in the water.

Associate professor Edyvane said the latest findings not only confirm Timor-Leste’s waters as a major migration corridor for blue whales but also an unprecedented location for blue whale research. 

“Timor-Leste’s deep, nearshore waters, particularly in the narrow Ombai-Wetar Strait along the north coast of the country, provide one of the most accessible and best locations for blue whale research in the world,” she said.

“Since 2014, our program has sighted over 2,700 blue whales in Timor-Leste’s waters, monitoring their annual migration along the country’s north coast. On a global level, these numbers are truly extraordinary.”

The film shoot was a collaboration between ANU researchers, Timor-Leste Government, and citizen scientists, including whale tour operators and tourists, student volunteers and local fishermen – all sharing information, images and observations about blue whale sightings. Whales may want to get a room next time.

This valuable information will now be used to help protect and conserve the whales as they pass through Timor-Leste’s waters and beyond.