An Australian father of two struck lucky with an unexpected whale sighting while out flying his drone off the New South Wales coastline. He later shared his incredible footage of a rare white humpback whale calf swimming alongside its mother, believed to be one of only five known white whales in the world.
Mark Zucconi, 53, captured the jaw-dropping footage during an outing to Macmasters Beach, New South Wales, on July 11, 2019. Mark, who hails from the nearby NSW town of Kincumber, spotted the whales via his drone from the safety of the shore and decided to track them as they swam side by side.
“In the video,” Mark said, “you can see the white calf enjoying the calm waters off of Macmasters Beach, playfully displaying its breaching talents under the watchful eyes of its mom and guardian.”
While the unexpected whale sighting was gratifying in and of itself, spotting the white humpback whale calf swimming beside its mother, Mark said, “just made the day a little more special.” The father of two estimated that the calf was likely between 13 and 16 months old at the time of filming.
Mark claimed that his whale sighting became even more precious the moment he discovered how unusual white humpback whales really are.
“There are only four other known white whales in the world, making them extremely rare,” Mark said.
“It is a very humbling experience to get a bird’s eye view of these majestic creatures,” he said, adding, “I felt honored that they put on such a great display while I was there, and that I was able to travel even just a fraction of their journey with them.”
