MEGAFAUNA
RAbove : Using a drone gave the team a
great insight into how these two whales were moving together
SBelow : Occasionally they would ‘ spy hop ’
right next to the boat
SBottom : Sometimes a big pectoral fin
would come out and slap the water g a little apprehensive as I had never been in the water with an animal of this size before .
The next morning I was sat on the pier with all my kit , waiting for Brydon and Peter Hunter , who was providing boat support for the day . It was a very rare mid-winter ’ s day , perfect for what we wanted to try : snorkelling with humpbacks . Time was limited due to the few hours of daylight at this time of year and with the sun low in the sky the light underwater can be quite challenging .
The first place we went to look was where I had last seen them the previous day from the cliffs . Within 10 minutes of leaving the pier we had found two . I was incredibly excited and nervous at the same time : to our knowledge there had never been any underwater images of humpback whales taken in the UK . g
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