Humpback whales are known for their spectacular breaching behaviour, where they launch their massive bodies out of the water and crash back with a splash.
This dramatic display is thought to serve various purposes, including communication, removing parasites, or simply play.
In Iceland, humpback whales are frequently seen during summer, their presence drawing tourists to places such as Húsavík on the north-east coast of the island. Those lucky enough will witness whales breaching up to 12 metres out of the water – an astonishing feat for an animal that weighs around 40 tonnes.
See a humpback in all its majesty in this short video filmed off the coast in Iceland.
Main image: humpback whale breaching. Credit: Getty
More amazing wildlife videos from around the world
- An expedition team were filming in a remote kelp forest in Patagonia when this happened
- Scientists film dramatic videos of ambush predators hiding behind sharks to hunt
- Power and majesty of the great white shark revealed in epic slow-motion video
- “A rare look" – scientists put a camera inside a shark egg and were spellbound by what they saw