“You’re never alone,” wrote the Peake family in an Instagram post showing drone footage of a surfer in the ocean next to a southern right whale. Surely, in the ocean, that is true—we’re never alone, even if we can’t see what’s beneath us. The surfer in the video soaks in the majestic moment as the whale calmly surfaces and floats nearby.
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The Peakes live in Western Australia, and they’ve posted several videos of whales that have gone viral or close to it. This one from two summers ago continues to make a mark on everyone who watches it. The surfer in the video throws his arms up in awe, and the whale dwarfs him with its massive body.
Southern right whales can be up to 56 feet long and weigh up to 176,000 pounds. They live throughout the Southern Hemisphere and feed on tiny copepods and krill, which they skim from the water. These long-lived mammals, which can live for 70 years, are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act
Watch a surfer and a southern right whale share a moment off the coast of Australia:
Header stock image by Katherine Wallis/Getty Images