Happy hump-back day! Baby whale calf leaps out of the water and spins in mid-air – treating tourists to a stunning nautical display
Tourists were treated to a spectacular sight of a newborn whale breaching the surface in a breathtaking display.
The pod of whales was passing through Sydney Harbour during the species’ annual migration when one of its youngest members burst out of the water on Friday.
The amazing images were snapped by German-born photographer Jonas Liebschner, 33, who was aboard another whale watching vessel nearby.
The pod of whales was passing through Sydney Harbour during the annual migration when one of it’s youngest members flipped out of the surface on Friday
The amazing images were snapped by German-born photographer Jonas Liebschner, 33, who was aboard another whale watching vessel nearby
Mr Liebschner, a regular whale photographer, said he was incredibly surprised at how close the mammals came to the boat but it allowed him to snap up the rare sight.
The newborn can be seen rising through the surface several times before flipping over in a show-off to it’s mother Mr Liebschner said.
The baby whale gave its performance on a choppier day which is know to be a precursor for the mammals to put on a display.
Why whales breach more in choppy sea is not entirely known but some research from the University of Queensland found a link between wind noise and the whales gesturing more than vocalising.
Mr Liebschner, a regular whale photographer, said he was incredibly surprised at how close the mammals came to the boat but it allowed him to snap up the rare sight
The newborn can be seen rising through the surface several times before flipping over in a show-off to it’s mother and humans nearby
The baby whale gave its performance on a choppier day which is know to be a precursor for the mammals to put on a display
‘Imagine you’re at a party and you’re trying to talk to someone and they can’t hear what you say, you start to gesture a bit,’ Dr Rebecca Dunlop told the ABC.
‘Humpbacks are doing something similar.’ she said.
The wind and choppy waves on the surface create similar sound frequencies underwater to what the whales use to communicate.
The researchers found the more wind there was, the more time whales spent on the surface breaching and slapping their fins against the water.
Why whales breach more in choppy sea is not entirely known but some research from the University of Queensland found a link between wind noise and the whales gesturing more than vocalising
The researchers found the more wind there was, the more time whales spent on the surface breaching and slapping their fins against the water
The annual migration of humpback whales see’s a flurry of activity between April and November as the glorious animals head to Australian waters after spending the summer eating krill in Antarctic.
Whale migration stretches around 10,000 kms and it attracts a large amount of tourism for Australia in coastal towns such as Byron Bay and Hervey Bay.
It comes as Icelandic fishermen declared in July for the first time in 17 years they would not be fishing for whale meat.
The owners of the group Hvals hf. said the collapse in the demand for whale meat, particularly in Japan, made the product not feasible to source
The annual migration of humpback whales see’s a flurry of activity between April and November as the glorious animals head to Australian waters after spending the summer eating kill in Antarctic
