An incredibly close shot of a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) filter-feeding, in the Antarctic Peninsula

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Some of the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) encounters in Wilhelmina Bay can be incredibly close… this individual was feeding nearby and at one point it was swimming right under our zodiac. It surfaced, less than 5 meters from us, with jaws wide open, filling its mouth with a huge gulp of water, which it then expelled through its baleens, as the image shows, keeping the krill that is its staple food inside. The whale was so close that I could smell its breath (a not very pleasant smell, by the way…)

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Size: 4172px × 2782px
Location: Antarctic Peninsula
Photo credit: © Arturo de Frias / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 2014, antarctic, antarctica, antartida, baleen, ballena, bay, chain, cold, continent, feeding, filter-feeding, food, gerlache, humpback, ice, jorobada, megaptera, nature, novaeangliae, ocean, rorqual, seventh, southern, strait, trophic, web, whale, wilhelmina, yubarta