A video from a Hawaiʻi shoreline has drawn attention online, showing a humpback mother bursting out of the water and her calf following with a far smaller, but no less charming, splash.
What happened?
The footage, posted in the forum r/NatureIsF******Lit and credited to Alison's Adventures, shows a humpback pair breaching near the Big Island's South Kona Coast.
(Click here if the embedded video does not appear.)
Users fixated on the contrast between the two impacts: the mother's huge splash and the calf's smaller one just behind her.
In the video, the adult goes first, and the calf seems to answer with a miniature, determined version of the same leap.
Why does it matter?
Even as newborns, humpback calves are enormous — about 14 feet long and around 1,500 pounds — so the young whale in the video is still a very large animal.
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The thread also opened up a wider discussion about why humpbacks breach, with commenters suggesting everything from shaking off parasites to sending signals over long distances to simple play. Scientists have examined the behavior for years, though the reason can vary depending on the circumstances.
A whale breach seen from shore also offers a glimpse into how young animals learn, explore, and survive in marine ecosystems that rely on healthy seas.
What are people saying?
Many commenters were won over by the calf's effort.
One wrote, "Tiny little splish splash," while another said, "He got the spirit."
Others turned to the question of whether breaching is learned from a mother whale or whether whales know how to do it from birth.
"It's so cool seeing animals teaching their young stuff you don't even think about teaching them!" wrote one user.
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