A snorkeller in Western Australia has had the experience of a lifetime after ‘holding hands’ with a humpback whale calf off the coast of the Kimberleys. The mesmerising scene was captured on camera, showing the moment the curious calf swam right to him and playfully rolled over.
For Ricky Harris, it wasn’t his first time swimming with whales but it was the first time he’s held hands with one. He told Yahoo News he was “eye-to eye” with the baby, and felt like time slowed down while he was in their presence.
Swimmers must keep a distance of 100 metres away from whales in Western Australia, and while Ricky recognises that he was too close, he said the calf was incredibly inquisitive and actually swam underneath its mother to get a closer look at him.
“I agree with not approaching them, I think that is a good thing,” he said.
“Initially, it was on the other side of the mum, and then it seemed to get a little bit of interest in what I was up to. So it swam under the mum, and then just came up right next to me.”
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The close interaction with the baby lasted about 30 seconds, with the mum and calf vocalising to each other the whole time.
“When you’re right next to them, it’s really, really loud,” he said, adding the volume was “quite overwhelming”.
Ricky’s partner, Margie Dizon, filmed the encounter from their boat while they were exploring the Kimberleys in late July.
She said the boat’s engine and all electronics were turned off to support a calm environment around the whales, and they really weren’t expecting to have such a “magical” experience.
“The magic just happens so randomly when you least expect it to happen,” she said.
Left: Ricky smiling from ear-to-ear after the experience. Right: Margie filmed the encounter on her phone. Source: Hooked on Wild Ventures
Ricky and Margie, from Darwin, spend months at a time exploring remote parts of Australia on their boat and previously visited the Montebello Islands, an isolated chain of islands off the Western Australian coast.
The islands were the site of three nuclear weapons tests by the British military in the 1950s.
To see more of Ricky and Margie’s adventures, check out their YouTube and Facebook pages.
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