A whale of a picture Mar 24, 2021

A whale of a picture

The family drama you see playing out here in the Pacific Ocean near Maui, Hawaii, is a humpback whale calf getting a little nudge from its mom. She presumably wants the sleepy youngster to practice surfacing, something these amazing marine mammals are famous for doing in dramatic fashion. Winter is calving season for the Hawaiian population of humpbacks. Thousands arrive from their feeding grounds in the North Pacific to swim and breed in the warm Hawaiian waters, making them a common sight from November until April. Because they"re known to hang around near the ocean"s surface, breaching or slapping the water with their tails, humpbacks are a favorite of whale watchers everywhere.

© Ralph Pace/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Mar 24, 2018Crimson-rumped toucanet in the Refugio Paz de Las Aves, Ecuador
Mar 24, 201930 years after Exxon Valdez
Mar 24, 2020Springtime in the Mediterranean
Mar 24, 2022Red squirrel
Mar 24, 2023Wild garlic in bloom at Hainich National Park, Germany
Mar 24, 2024Silvereyes in South Korea
Mar 24, 2025African bush elephants in Namibia
Mar 24, 2026Cherry blossoms at East Lake Cherry Blossom Park, Wuhan, China

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul 22, 2020Wildebeest on the move
Jan 20, 2025Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Dec 8, 2022The Cathedral of Florence, Italy
Aug 28, 2025A great white egret in Hungary
Sep 5, 2021Venice s grand regatta
Sep 25, 2023Sea Otter Awareness Week
Nov 16, 2020A temple, preserved
Oct 18, 2020Sitka shines on Alaska Day
Sep 25, 2024Sequoia National Parks 134th anniversary
Dec 3, 2023Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
Mar 28, 2025Black-naped monarch
Dec 20, 2023Val Gardena, South Tyrol, Dolomites, Italy
Aug 11, 2022It s Mountain Day in Japan
May 1, 2019Purple flowers and Golden Week
Nov 10, 2018The Badlands celebrates a milestone
Mar 23, 2018Happy World Meteorological Day
Sep 19, 2018Talk like a pirate—or walk the plank
Mar 13, 2020Jerte Valley in bloom
Jun 14, 2023Flag Day
Jan 18, 2022Winnie-the-Pooh Day
Apr 21, 2025International Dark Sky Week
Mar 27, 2019Sweet! It’s maple syrup season
Jan 10, 2018Weaverbird nests at Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve
Apr 17, 2019Happy birthday to the Peak!
Jan 10, 2024Take the Stairs Day
Sep 26, 2018Art in the chapel
Aug 29, 2025Aerial view of Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain
Dec 30, 2024Mount Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Mar 15, 2023Agüero, Huesca province, Spain
May 16, 20193,000 years of history