Whales Put on Display for Watchers Off Australia's Gold Coast

Whale watchers were treated to a spectacle off Australia’s Gold Coast on July 17, as one humpback whale slapped its tail on the water and another breached dramatically.

David Jaeger, of Tweed Gold Coast Dive Charters, captured this video of the whales and posted it to Facebook with the caption: “People always ask how close do the humpback whales get and my answer is as close as they like.”

Humpback whales have been found to slap tails as part of their feeding process, in a method called lobtail feeding. The tail-slapping discourages prey from moving toward the surface of the water, away from the whale. Credit: tweedgoldcoastdivecharters via Storyful