The whale watcher’s amateur attempts to communicate under the sea produced thrilling footage of a pod of Humpbacks answering his call.
Using only a microphone and amplifier, the youngster uses his version of “whale speak” to draw in the humpbacks to his small boat off the coast of Sydney with a series of high-pitched squeals.
Within seconds, the whales respond, first breaking the surface and then swimming up to boat in a swirl of frothy water.
Finally, one of the whales breaches the surface and back-flips just yards from the camera.
The unnamed youngster’s father posted the video online, saying: “We tried a device to speak to the whales.. It seemed to bring them to the boat like rats to the Pied Piper.
“They swam under the boat and blew bubbles. They even breached twice right near the boat. We were pretty scared.”
Humpback whales are one species of whale that regular breaches or crests the surface of the sea, although the reasons for this exibitionist behaviour have yet to be fully understood by scientists.
One theory is that a whale uses it to show off its physical wellbeing to potential suitors as the effort to break the surface requires high levels of fitness.
Another reason may be down to underwater communication breakdowns when underwater noises are masking the whales’ usual acoustic signals.
