Hermanus, South Africa, Oct 19: The huge beasts delighted the crowd as they rolled and sprayed in the surf, just metres (yards) from the jagged and rocky shore. The crowd had come for the annual whale festival in the South African seaside resort of Hermanus, one of the prime spots on the planet to indulge in whale watching from the comfort of dry land.
On this particular morning the viewers were not disappointed, with at least nine southern right whales observed at close range, including two females with calves.
Once pushed to the edge of extinction, Southern Right Whales are now riding the comeback wave.
Their population is believed to be rising at an annual rate of seven percent -- a staggering figure for an animal that usually attains lengths of around 14 metres (44 feet) and weighs up to 40 tonnes or more.
Annual counts have shown growing numbers in South African waters, where the plankton-eating giants spend much of their time.
Last year's assessment revealed the biggest number yet of the gentle leviathans in the survey's 30-year history, with 845 counted during a seven-day aerial survey of South Africa's South Coast, 169 more than the previous year.
In an age of ravaged fish stocks and messy oil spills, this is a rare piece of good environmental news on the marine front.
''In all of the southern hemisphere, there are estimated to be 9,000 to 10,000 right whales at the moment,'' Dr Peter Best, a zoologist with the mammal research institute at the University of Pretoria, told reporters.
That is remarkable considering where their numbers once stood as a result of uncontrolled whaling.
''In the 1920s, their numbers were down to as low as 300 by some estimates,'' Best said.
Bureau Report