Devoted Mother 2

Devoted Mother 2
Taken by
Vanessa Mignon
Date taken
Sept. 6, 2013
Description
Humpback whales migrate to Tonga every year to mate, give birth and nurse their baby. This year we were very fortunate to swim with several pair of mothers and calves. This one was the most relaxed of them all, and the mother kept coming slowly towards us. It was such a peaceful and incredible experience. Although the baby was already quite big, it stayed really close to its mother the whole time and the mother will often support it at the surface of the water. This is quite a common behaviour with young babies where the mother help them breath at the surface. After a while the baby actually fell asleep in that position. I had never seen a whale sleeping so close. It was such an amazing moment and privilege to feel that those whales trusted us enough to allow us so close and even fall asleep in front of us.
Camera make
canon
Camera model
5Dmark iii
Housing manufacturer
nauticam
Lighting
no
Accessories
Shutter speed
160
Aperture
8
ISO
320