Absolutely stunning drone footage has emerged of the moment when two whales swam through a crystal-clear ocean to greet an Australian paddle-boarder.
The serene video shows the southern right whales calmly approaching Dave Price through still and turquoise waters near the town of Esperance in Western Australia—the footage perfectly accompanied by a Jack Johnson cover of John Lennon’s classic Imagine.
Jaimen Hudson‘s footage has tugged the heartstrings of people the world over, with the footage having been viewed over 1.6 million times in less than two weeks.
‘I set up my equipment on the footpath and flew the drone out,’ Jaimen explained to Australia’s ABC.
‘Dave Price who lives close by, was just making his way over to the whales on his stand-up paddle board and they were really inquisitive and came over to meet him.’
Estimates currently put the number of southern right whales in the world at around 10,000, however this number is thankfully on the rise due to a decrease in their hunting. These baleen whales are usually found in the Southern Hemisphere from temperate to polar latitudes and are unable to swim through the tropical equatorial waters without overheating, due to their thicks layers of insulating blubber.
Speaking about the overwhelming reaction to his video, Hudson said: ‘The reaction to this clip has been huge and I really enjoy doing it, so hopefully I can take it further one day.’
