‘Super chilled’ sea creature catches photographer’s eye. Watch as baby swims with mom
Scott Baxter regularly frequents the Western Australia coast with his drone — capturing overhead shots of the ocean, beaches and wildlife.
Baxter was at Geographe Bay on Friday, Oct. 6, when he caught a glimpse of something special: a young whale calf with its mom.
“This little one took my attention… super chilled,” Baxter told McClatchy News in a message.
A video he captured shows the momma whale swimming at the surface of the water when suddenly her calf appears from beneath her. The baby swims alongside its mom before diving back beneath her and surfacing on her other side.
Each of the whales appears to have rough patches of skin, known as callosites. The unique spots are similar to a person’s fingerprints in that “no two whales have the same pattern,” Baxter said in an Instagram post.
Humpback whales and Southern right whales are the most common species spotted during migration, Baxter told McClatchy News.
Whales near Australia migrate north starting in May and June, and they begin their southbound journey between August and November, according to Australia’s National Parks and Wildlife Services blog.
Geographe Bay is about 140 miles southwest of Perth.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 11:48 AM with the headline "‘Super chilled’ sea creature catches photographer’s eye. Watch as baby swims with mom."
