Like humans, young humpacks go to Gold Coast for whale of a time

The Gold Coast has long been a holiday and party destination for humans, and new research has found it is no different for humpback whales.

Griffith University researchers have used data gathered by citizen science programs to study the migration habits and behaviour of the humpbacks and found they use two spots on the Queensland coast for similar, but noticeably distinct, reasons.

Hervey Bay is famously a respite stop on the whales’ annual migration up and down the east coast of Australia, with the whales, especially mothers with young calves, using the sheltered bay area to rest and recharge.

While the whales also used the water…