Wildlife: Honorable Mention 2016 (professional)
ENTRY DESCRIPTION
I jump in the water. My first swim in the clear waters of the Kingdom of Tonga. I hear a mesmerising melody. It feels close. It is so inviting. I cannot resist but swim around, searching desperately for the source. The melody gets louder. It is here, somewhere in the blue. I look down and I spot something glowing in the depths. I dive down, 5, 10, 15, 20 metres. There is it, a lone male humpback whale singing his courtship vocalisation. His enthralling serenade is unique, it tells all females in the vicinity where he is from, where he has been, and with a personal 'chorus' to showcase his uniqueness. It is now so powerful I can feel it resonating through my entire body. He is facing down in the water column, tail up, projecting his powerful song onto the seafloor to disperse his call as far as he can in hope to find a mate. He is lonely, and in search of his soulmate.
AUTHOR
Fabrice Jaine is a marine scientist and underwater photographer based in Hobart, Australia. A passionate traveller and naturalist, Fabrice uses his photography to report on the beauty and fragility of our planet. His work has led him to conduct frontline international conservation science and seen his images featured in media outlets such as Australian Geographic, Ocean Geographic and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
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