Exhale

By Michael B. Hardie

Piece description from the artist

I observed this large male humpback whale for about 15-20 minutes in the “Singing Position” as many males put themselves into during breeding cycles. The male will put itself, completely submerged, into a vertical position with its head down and fluke up and remain almost motionless as it sings loudly. It was so loud in fact that it was resonating in the hull of our boat and we could hear him singing on top of the water!

After what I think was 30 mins of this behavior or more, the song was over and he decided to cruise in his normal horizontal position and come to the surface to breathe. It was then that I decided to launch the drone and follow this mail to see if he attracted any females in the area with his beautifully performed melodies. To my surprise and almost immediately upon surfacing, a pod of spinner dolphins came over, and started jumping and spinning and riding alongside the front of the whale. They were so excited to be around this giant and he didn’t seem to mind. They were all having a great time enjoying each other’s company.

I count myself extremely fortunate to have witnessed this behavior first hand and I hope by looking at this image that it opens your heart and mind to the wonder of nature, kindness, fun, and friendships.