nubbsgalore:

“they were highly curious. they would come within inches of me with great curiosity, but no aggression,” notes brian skerry, who was photographing southern right whales in the auckland islands marine reserve.

said brian, “i’ve been diving for about thirty years, and i can honestly say that i’ve had some amazing encounters with sharks, squids, and other whales. but the encounter with the right whales in the auckland islands was probably the best thing i’ve ever done.“

as brian recounts, “i was swimming alongside this huge whale, kicking as hard as i can to keep up…but i had to take a break, so i stopped and kneeled down on the bottom. instead of continuing, the whale stops and turns and waits for me, as if to say ‘i’ll wait for you to catch your breath’.”

“after a while it would get bored and go back up to the surface, so i would ascend to kind of remind it that i was still around. it would see me, and i’d go back down. and sure enough, the whale would follow me. It was like swimming around with a friend.”