breaching

Photos of a Happy Baby Orca Leaping Out of the Sea

Photographer Clint Rivers recently spotted what may be the happiest little baby orca in all the ocean. The Victoria, British Columbia-based wildlife photographer was on a boat in the Salish Sea when they came across a pod of killer whales and a 6-month-old orca leaping over and over out of the water.

Amazing Photo of a Humpback Whale Breaching a Boat Length Away

While working as a fishing guide in Tofino, British Columbia, Matthew Thornton captured this wild photograph of a humpback whale calf leaping out of the water an extremely short distance away (estimated at 10-30 feet). In his submission to the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest, Thornton writes,

On our way in from fishing for halibut we noticed a few humpback whales playing in the distance and we stopped part way in to watch. It was quite an experience to see something completely airborne so close to the boat. The lucky thing was I got the photo I submitted. A fellow boat also got a picture of the whale close to mid air and it was also all caught on video. Was an amazing day.