In July 2024, whale experts shared adorable footage of a baby humpback whale breaching off the coast of Western Australia<\/p>\n
The short video, taken by wildlife photographer\u00a0Jason Milligan<\/a>, showed a newborn humpback whale<\/a> trying to breach. \u201cBlows my mind that something so new to the world has the ability to launch out the air like that,\u201d Milligan said on Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n See the baby whale breaching off the coast of Western Australia. Credit: Jason Milligan – Instagram: millo_hd<\/p>\n Although scientists aren\u2019t exactly sure why whales\u00a0breach<\/a>, it could be for communication, to remove parasites<\/a>, or just because it\u2019s really, really fun. Whatever the reason, this little calf was already getting the hang of hurling itself out of the water and crashing down again with a mega splash.\u00a0<\/p>\n Humpback whales typically travel thousands of miles from their polar feeding grounds to warm, sheltered waters to give birth and raise their vulnerable babies.\u00a0<\/p>\n But a study published in\u00a0Frontiers in Marine Science<\/a>\u00a0in May 2025 found that some humpback<\/a> mothers give birth before reaching safe, tropical waters \u2013 and keep swimming with their little ones until they get there.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHundreds of humpback calves were born well outside the established breeding grounds,\u201d said the study\u2019s senior author Tracey Rogers of the University of New South Wales. “Giving birth along the \u2018humpback highway\u2019 means these vulnerable calves, who are not yet strong swimmers, are required to swim long distances much earlier in life than if they were born in the breeding grounds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Image and video credit: Credit: Jason Milligan – Instagram: millo_hd<\/a><\/p>\n More wildlife stories from around the world:<\/p>\n