Humpback Whales!

   All the whales photos on this page have been taken snorkelling or free diving with with total respect for the animals and the environment.  

Information on humpback whales

Humpback whales, whose scientific name is Megaptera novaeangliae , are baleen whales.

They are very large cetaceans : adults can be 13 to 14 meters long and weigh 25 tons on average     

The humpback whale, this artist

Humpback whales perform spectacular jumps out of the water.

The way they sing is also very complex and elaborate.

It is a real pleasure to hear them while diving, especially when you use the more silent close-circuit rebreathers. These huge cetaceans are present in all the oceans and seas of the world.  

The humpback whale’s long migration

During the Austral winter, they come to spend a few months in tropical waters. In the Indian Ocean,

Humpback whales travel from Antarctica to sometimes Kenya, or even further North.

On the other hand, it seems that there is no exchange between the whale populations of the two différents hemispheres.

Long hunted for their fat and meat humpback whales were on the verge of extinction.  

The whale: A protected species

At the beginning of the previous century, their population was estimated to a number of about 100,000 individuals.

But their population dramatically declined until 1966, when the humpback whale was declared a protected species.

Since then, the population has tended to increase. A small sign of hope when so many other species are on the verge of extinction.

Encounters with these animals are always magical, and we try to transmit this magical feeling in our underwater photography.