ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Behaviours of the humpback whale are fascinating to observe and photograph. However, not many are as explosive as the Peduncle Throw. While swimming with a humpback whale in Tonga, a young female did exactly that, 5 meters away from my camera.

This powerful manoeuvre is executed when the humpback pivots its head downwards and throws the lower portion of its body, including its flukes and peduncle sideways across the surface of the water in a quick and powerful thrust, resulting in a huge splash of water. This behaviour has been described to be an expression of defence, aggression or play.

After the breath-taking moment, the humpback took a dive into the shallows leaving the boom of the peduncle throw still echoing inside me.

AUTHOR
Mok Wai Hoe is a photo enthusiast with a special interest in underwater photography and marine life. A member of Ocean Artists Society, he has been placed in photography competitions, such as Underwater Photographer of the Year, Sony World Photography Award and Ocean Geographic Photos of the Year, with his most notable accolade being the Master of Ocean Geographic Competition Wyland Award. His images have appeared in NatGeo online, Ocean Geographic, with a special feature of "OGX Emerging Pro Wildlife Photographer". In 2018, Mok was named Singapore Nature Photographer of the Year.

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