“We felt pure joy”: Perth photographer captures lucky shots of pod of four blue whales off Cape Naturaliste

A Perth photographer has captured breath-taking images of the world’s largest animal swimming off the picturesque South West coast in a “super rare” moment he could not have expected. Cape Naturaliste attracts keen whale watchers from September to December each year, as humpback whales travel north to warmer waters to breed and southern right whales use the bays to protect their young, but the water is also used by the majestic blue whales and some lucky onlookers will catch a glimpse of their glory. Dylan deHaas found himself in the right place at the right time to snap a pod of four blue whales off the coast of Cape Naturaliste last week. The endangered mammals can grow to lengths of more than 30m, with one seen dwarfing a small boat in one of Mr deHaas’ photos. Mr deHaas told the Times he knew humpback whales passed frequently through the area and had parked up on a boat with his wife to fish and hopefully spot a whale. “We heard a big whale spout and put the drone straight up and saw four blue whales swimming and thought ‘oh my God’,” he said. The moving moment brought his wife to tears, fulfilling her life-long wish of seeing the majestic animal in the ocean. “I’ve spent a lot of time in and around the ocean and had a lot of marine interaction in my time, but they’re the biggest animal ever and to see four of them at the same time when they’re usually known as a solitary animal was absolutely amazing. “We just had pure joy, it was awesome.” Mr deHaas encouraged those hopeful to witness whales in the wild to abide by the boating and drone rules in place.