Humpback whale pulls off once-in-a-lifetime backflip
"Air Jaws" may have some new competition in the form of a humpback whale with some serious hops.
The breaching whale was photographed last week off the foggy coast of Nova Scotia in the Bay of Fundy, a popular summer feeding ground for whales. Penny Graham, the head of Marine Cruises Whale and Seabird Tours, was behind the lens.
"It was just amazing!" Graham told CBS News. "I'm not sure I'll ever live to see that again."
Graham has been whale-watching since 1984. She's seen plenty of breaching whales in her day but said this one was special.
"It was the angle that made it so phenomenal," said Graham. "That whale was upside down heading towards us."
The whale breached dozens of times, much to the delight of Graham and the foreign tourists on the vessel.
"There was a lot of hollering and screaming on that boat," she said. "Everybody was clapping and laughing. I had tears of joy. It was amazing to be part of that."
Scientists say whales breach for a number of reasons, including: knocking parasites off, scaring fish into a tighter school to eat, and communication. But Graham, who admits she's no scientist, believes what she saw has a much simpler explanation.
"That whale was having just as much fun as we were," she said. "I think it was doing it out of pure enjoyment."