This footage of a humpback whale and her calf playing off the coast of Tonga in September, 2017, was captured by underwater photographer Annie Crawley.
Crawley told Storyful that mother humpback whales travel from feeding grounds in Antarctica to give birth in the warm waters off Tonga.
“After they give birth, the mother feeds her baby nutrient rich fatty milk,” Crawley said, adding that the calf drinks 50 gallons of milk and grows 100 pounds every day.
“The mother lives off her fat stores watching her baby grow. The baby is very small at first. Once the baby starts growing they get really curious and want to come and play. They do not know their own strength when they are young,” Crawley said.
Explaining the incident captured on video, Crawley said the mother was resting under her calf in order to produce more milk. “The mother can hold her breath for 45 minutes but the baby only three to five minutes. So this baby danced and played all around me, until she got too close and mama came and took her away, probably to protect me!” Credit: Annie Crawley via Storyful
