A whale of a picture

The family drama you see playing out here in the Pacific Ocean is a humpback whale calf getting a little nudge from its mum. Maybe she wants the sleepy youngster to practice surfacing in dramatic fashion, something for which these amazing marine mammals are famous. Winter is calving season, when thousands of humpbacks swim to the warm waters off Hawaii, where they are often spotted between November and April. Because they're known to hang around near the ocean's surface, breaching or slapping the water with their tails, humpbacks are a favourite with whale watchers everywhere.
© Ralph Pace/Minden Pictures