A humpback whale calf may be a large animal, but it's still a kid
Like many children, a baby humpback whale was recently overtaken by the immediate urge to play. Drone footage recently taken by Shaun Arthurson in the waters around New South Wales, Australia, shows the curious calf swimming within a few feet of a group of kayakers.
In the clip, the baby whale swims towards the kayaks, lifting their nose near the boats, so it almost touches the tips of the kayaks. But before the calf gets too close, they dive deeper into the blue water. Other shots show the gentle giant playfully splashing the kayakers.
According to Caters News, the kayakers appeared grateful and stunned by the close encounter with the animal.
Arthurson shared footage from the magical moment on the Instagram account @places_to_drone.
"Unbelievable scenes at Maroubra this afternoon — a curious humpback calf got up close with a group of kayakers!" Arthurson captioned the video of the baby humpback whale, noting he didn't know the kayakers' identities because he filmed it with a drone.
Caters News/Shaun Arthurson
A humpback whale calf near a kayak"Wow wow! I hope you can find those kayaks so they can see this great footage," wrote one commenter.
Humpback whales are known to say hello to kayakers when they are swimming nearby. In August, at the Mamawata Surf Retreat in Costa Rica, kayakers had a magnificent close call with a breaching whale and her calf.
Thankfully, the whales were far enough away from the boaters as not to cause any injuries. Instead, the kayakers watched in awe as the whales soared into the air, then splashed back into the water.
Caters News/Shaun Arthurson
A humpback whale and her calf in the water near New South Wales, AustraliaNever miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"Yesterday, we invited some friends over to go kayaking as a cool Saturday plan. We were secretly hoping to maybe spot some whales since my boyfriend and I had been seeing them from our house the past few days - but honestly, we had no expectations," Mamawata Surf Retreat captioned an Instagram post about the encounter.
"What we didn't know was that this mama and her baby were about to put on this kind of show for us! At first, they were just swimming and coming up for air around us… and then this happened," the account added.
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