Humpback whale female and calf tail slapping | Megaptera novaeangliae | Tonga

Adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in tail slapping with her calf. The calf is slapping its fluke in the normal manner, with ventral side down, while its mother is tail slapping with dorsal side down, hitting the dorsal surface of her fluke on the ocean surface. This type of joint activity is common with humpback whale mother and babies. The calf is Orion, the 13th calf I counted in the 2007 season in Vava'u, Tonga.

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Filename: humpback-whales-mother-calf-tail-slap-megaptera-novaeangliae-tonga-200708-V3R3950.tif
Copyright: Copyright Tony Wu. All rights reserved. No reproduction in any form without prior written consent.
Image Size: 3179x2119 / 19.3MB; https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license#rm; https://www.tony-wu.com/contact-tony-wu; South Pacific Tonga Vava'u Humpback Whale Animalia Chordata Mammalia Cetartiodactyla Eutheria Cetacea Mysticeti Balaenopteridae Marine Mammal Baleen Whale Rorqual Mysticete Megaptera novaeangliae Endangered: IUCN Red List CITES Appendix 1 Filter Feeder Calf Mother and Calf Female Fluke Tail Slap
Contained in galleries: Humpback Whale Activity

Adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) engaged in tail slapping with her calf. The calf is slapping its fluke in the normal manner, with ventral side down, while its mother is tail slapping with dorsal side down, hitting the dorsal surface of her fluke on the ocean surface. This type of joint activity is common with humpback whale mother and babies. The calf is Orion, the 13th calf I counted in the 2007 season in Vava'u, Tonga.