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:

Jun 6, 2022Indigo bunting
Mar 1, 2026Womens History Month
Jan 5, 2024International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, Harbin, China
Sep 3, 2020Tall, taller, tallest
Jan 23, 2023Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile
Sep 17, 2024Mid-Autumn Festival
Aug 5, 2025Tide pools in La Jolla, California
Aug 8, 2019Spot on for International Cat Day
Sep 25, 2023Sea Otter Awareness Week
Dec 14, 2025Audubon Christmas Bird Count
May 26, 2025Memorial Day
May 22, 2022International Day for Biological Diversity
May 30, 2021Who s hiding in the kelp?
Apr 20, 2025Happy Easter!
Jul 7, 2021Back on the rise
Dec 18, 2024English National Ballet performing The Nutcracker
Mar 2, 2022Mount Rainier National Park
Nov 15, 2022River otters at Acadia National Park, Maine
Dec 25, 2021Merry Christmas
Mar 30, 2022Belted Galloway cows
Jan 28, 2019Ancient groves in Australia
Oct 11, 2021Indigenous living
Apr 23, 2020Duck, duck. duck, duck, duck...
Feb 13, 2026Third Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge connecting Laos and Thailand
Feb 26, 2026Grand Canyon National Park anniversary
Oct 30, 2018A species worth defending
Aug 17, 2019The buzz about bees
Nov 15, 2020What’s blooming in New Zealand?
Jun 28, 2021A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean
Feb 4, 2018Male kori bustard, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya