For all their size and the terrifying strength that they carry within, whales are actually gentle and curious creatures.
If any animal embodies the term “gentle giant” most accurately, it’s probably the whale.
Humpback whales are known for their beautiful songs that are as complex as they are haunting when heard from the dark depths of the ocean. The sound they emit is so strong that they can be heard for hundreds of miles underwater (taking into account that water conducts sound better than air). A group of swimmers was lucky enough to chance upon a humpback whale as it was singing its song.
Watch the video of the whale singing below.
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Video credit: Rumble
This meeting happened somewhere in Tonga and the whale graciously lets them to within a few meters as he does his own thing. While we can only guess at what was going through its mind, it’s not hard to imagine that it was probably wondering what these little creatures with fins on their feet were doing.
The area where the video was taken sees humpback whales visit from July to October in order to mate and give birth in waters that are free from predators. As such, it was the perfect place for a close encounter with these magnificent creatures and also the best chance to hear them sing their whale song. We may not know what it means but its tunes bring to mind the grand call of nature that we instinctively respond to.
Even scientists are still working to fully understand the wonderful evolution of the whale. Even just 100,000 years ago (which is practically just yesterday on the geologic scale), whales like these were actually the most intelligent beings on the planet. Their intellectual capacity actually exceeded that of our primate ancestors during that period.
It turns out that 50 million years ago, the ancestors of whales lived on land and were the size of large dogs. As they spent more time in lakes and swamps, they slowly evolved into the massive forms that we’re familiar with today.
Unfortunately, even the magnificence of these creatures is no match for human greed and large-scale whale-hunting has severely reduced their numbers. Although most countries have made whaling illegal, other countries still continue as before. As if that wasn’t enough, human pollution of the Earth’s waters put these beautiful creatures more at risk.
It’s a wonder then that there are people still lucky enough to have close encounters with them just as the tourists in the video did.
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