One should always be alert, as we never know when we might miss the moment of a lifetime!
This could have been the case with a group of whale watchers as they nearly missed their chance to see a whale just behind their boat!
Yet, the sneaky mammal popped up right behind them, while they were looking in the opposite direction!
The group was pictured waiting patiently with their cameras poised, but they were looking the wrong way when the curious animal surfaced a matter of feet away from their boat!
Luckily, they turned around in their boat just in the nick of time to see the massive humpback whale, before she disappeared back into the ocean’s depths, sparking scenes of celebration on the skiff.
Photos taken from another vessel show the majestic animal poking its rostrum out from beneath the water as the group face forward, pointing their cameras at the open ocean ahead of them in anticipation
Luckily, before she disappeared into the sea again, the group spotted her. The second photo shows their jubilation at the close encounter
Fortunately, they turned around in their boat just in the nick of time to spot the huge humpback whale
People from another vessel close by took photos of the event, which show the majestic animal poking its rostrum out from beneath the water as the group faced forward, pointing their cameras at the open ocean ahead of them in anticipation.
The team of whale watchers was lucky to spot the creature at the last second, and the second photo shows their jubilation at the close encounter.
One woman throws her arms into the air with joy, while the others, vividly surprised, stay open-mouthed and click away on their cameras.
Director and photographer, Eric J Smith, during his trip to San Ignacio Lagoon, in Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, captured the rare moment
Two boats of whale watchers have a close encounter with the sperm whale off the coast of Baja, Mexico
Smith, a 49-year-old from Los Angeles, said the whale ‘slowly and silently stuck her head high above the water to look around. I was in another panga a few dozen feet away and caught the moment right before everyone realized she was so close.’
The once-in-a-lifetime moment was captured by director and photographer, Eric J Smith during a trip to San Ignacio Lagoon, in Baja California Peninsula, Mexico.
The 49-year-old from Los Angeles, said:
“She slowly and silently stuck her head high above the water to look around. I was in another panga a few dozen feet away and caught the moment right before everyone realized she was so close.
When everyone turned around, she quickly sank below the surface. Cheering and hysterical laughter ensued.”
He added:
‘Whale photography involves a lot of luck, but the key is to always be on alert and ready. On a whale-watching voyage, it is easy to get complacent because there is a lot of waiting. It seems like the moment you let your guard down a spectacular breach occurs.’
A close-up of a humpback whale off the coast of Mexico. These whales live in oceans all over the world and typically migrate up to 16,000 miles. They are known for breaching the surface, which makes them popular among whale watchers
Humpbacks were once the target of the whaling industry which nearly hunted them until extinction. Therefore, a worldwide moratorium in 1966 outlawed hunting, and ever since, their numbers have partially recovered
A whale watcher pats a humpback whale from a sightseeing boat off the coast of Mexico
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