A HUMPBACK whale and its baby calf were spotted leaping out of the water off the coast of the Canary Islands.
The heart-warming display was captured close to the coast of El Hierro, the southernmost island of the archipelago.
The mother whale and its baby calf are seen breaching in an acrobatic display.
Humpback whales don’t breach just for fun: the impact of their bodies, sometimes weighing up to 40 tonnes, creates a powerful sound that is thought to help them communicate over long distances.
The species, which typically measure between 12 and 16 metres, are rarely spotted in the Canary Islands, with the last reported sighting in August 2025.Â
The migratory species travel anywhere from 5,000 and 8,000km from breeding to feeding grounds making an annual trip of up to 16,000km.Â
This sighting could have captured the mother and its calf on a journey from breeding grounds in Cape Verde to feeding grounds in Iceland, Norway and Greenland.
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