A tour guide caught an amazing and incredibly rare sight while sailing along Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
As the Cairns Post reports, master reef guide Tahn Miller captured stunning footage of a group of humpback whales engaging in a "heat run." Miller described the awesome contest as "a pretty special" sighting.
A heat run is a courtship ritual that is not for the faint of heart. A group of six or seven males engages in an hours-long chase for the affections of a solitary female. All the while, the usually gentle giants fight one another until one victorious male wins the fin of the fair maiden.
There's a method behind the madness, as One World Ocean explains. Humpback whales feed in the rich waters of the Antarctic and migrate to warmer climates to breed. The whales aren't monogamous, but the females are choosy in who they mate with. It's a classic case of survival of the fittest, as only the strongest males will prevail.
For female humpbacks, raising a calf to adulthood is no small task. The newborn tykes need a lot of milk, up to 300 liters every day, to put on the fat needed to survive the arduous journey ahead of them.
Humpback whales are facing some serious threats due to rising ocean temperatures that are disrupting their migratory cycles. They rely chiefly on memory to determine the best time to make their long journeys for the seasonal krill blooms they rely on. Whales are a critical part of the ocean's ecosystem through nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration.
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Like trail cameras capturing elusive species, Miller's footage can help with conservation efforts by forming effective local strategies and raising awareness.
One of his key recommendations is maintaining a safe distance: "That's why we tend to keep our distance, especially if we see a mother and calf. We move off and leave them be in most cases … up here in the northern part, every moment is important for them."
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