It can be scary when you're out in the sea and a couple of huge creatures underwater quietly make their way to you, but for Jaimen Hudson and Dave Price of Esperance, Australia, it was a beautiful encounter with two Southern Right whales that they will never forget.
When they heard that there were whales swimming about just off Fourth Beach on the South East Coast of Australia, Price took his paddleboard to take a closer look and Hudson quickly grabbed his equipment and flew his drone out to capture the magnificent marine creatures on video. They never thought that the whales were curious as well.
Thanks to the clear water, Hudson was able to capture how the whales slowly swam to meet Price who was making his way over to them on his stand-up paddleboard. At one point in the video, one of the whales peeked above the water to take a look at Price. The entire encounter was peaceful and relaxed for both human and whales, and Hudson shared that he didn't "think it was dangerous."
The whales soon made their way out into the sea again and, while Price seemed to have stayed behind, Hudson followed them a little longer in their journey with his drone. He even captured one whale spouting out water as it swam along.
After the encounter, Hudson released the footage set to Jack Johnson's version of "Imagine" on YouTube on Sept. 24. It now has more than 2 million views. He also uploaded 15-second clips from the video on his Instagram account.
Hudson has a few more drone videos of marine animals uploaded to the account, including an equally amazing dolphin surf video. He hopes to "take it further one day."
Southern Right whales were the target of commercial whaling in Australia in the 19th century, and their numbers have dwindled because of it. While their population has slowly been growing, close encounters are still uncommon.
Watch the full video of the encounter below:
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