SMILING for his first baby photos, this humpback calf delighted whale watchers when he popped his head up just 20m from their boat in Sydney Harbour.
SMILING for his first baby photos, this humpback calf delighted whale watchers when he popped his head up just 20m from their boat in Sydney Harbour.
The curious calf launched itself in the air more than 20 times as if wanting a good look at its human admirers.
Photographer Jonas Liebschner snapped these amazing images of the young whale, seemingly smiling and in many cases looking directly at passengers on the Whale Watching Sydney cruise, as its mum watched on.
“I think he was checking us out,” Mr Liebschner said. “This was very special because it does not happen every day.”
The mother and calf were spotted enjoying themselves between South, North and Middle Heads at midday on Wednesday. At one stage, the acrobatic baby came close to a city-bound ferry, forcing the vessel to slow down — to the delight of commuters.
While it is common to see migrating humpback whales off the Sydney coast this time of year, it’s not often they come inside the harbour.
“It was a great excuse to be late for work — there is a jumping whale in the way,” Mr Liebschner said.
The whales frolicked for about an hour before heading back out to sea.
The humpback whale migration takes place between April and December each year as the mammals head north to the Coral Sea to breed before returning to Antarctica with their calves.
